


Seven Thirty-Five

by BloomingMiracle (Luna264)



Series: Seven Thirty Series [1]
Category: Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, processing a new video game by writing crossover fanfic, this refuses to not be written
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-11-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:42:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 42,807
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23670259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Luna264/pseuds/BloomingMiracle
Summary: Cloud Strife is just in this for the money. He only took the rate as low as it was because there were no other jobs left.He should have tried to stick it out for another job.
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough & Cloud Strife, Axel & Saïx (Kingdom Hearts), Axel & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Cloud Strife & Barret Wallace, Cloud Strife & Namine (Kingdom Hearts), Cloud Strife & Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), Roxas (Kingdom Hearts) & Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife
Series: Seven Thirty Series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2108436
Comments: 107
Kudos: 141





	1. Becoming A Domestic Terrorist For Dummies

“I’m  _ just _ here for the money,” Cloud said for what felt like the thousandth time.

“ _ I’m _ just saying,” Jessie shot back. “There are plenty of other jobs you could have taken, if it was  _ just _ the money.”

Cloud adjusted his grip on his sword. “And I did those, too.”

“Shit,” Jessie laughed. “You can’t possibly  _ need _ that much, can you?”

“Looks like SOLDIER boy’s got a personality in there after all,” Barret said.

Cloud tried not to growl. “What I plan to do with this money is none of your business,” He said. “Let’s get this over with so you can pay me.”

“Sure, sure,” Biggs said. He nudged his companions. “He’ll be on board eventually, just wait.”

Wedge nodded.

“You keep telling yourself that,” Axel said. “I’ve learned to  _ believe _ people when they say they’re in it for the money. Not  _ really _ a point pretending to be, you know?”

“Please,” Wedge said. “Anyone who was just in it for the money would have taken a different job.”

Cloud pushed past them, further into the reactor.

~*~*~*~

The scorpion sentinel crashed to the floor, a stray piece knocking the button on the bomb and starting the counter.

“Run!” Barret called to him.

Cloud gritted his teeth and ran, shooting a mental apology ahead of him in case he didn’t make it out. He knew the people it was for wouldn’t hear it, wouldn’t understand if he didn’t come home tonight, but it was all he could do for them except run.

Tifa had known how to find him. She’d sent her new friends to hire him, after all. Maybe she’d find them, too, and take care of them after getting him killed.

She’d owe it to him.

All he could do was run.

~*~*~*~

He’d barely registered the fact that he was out of the predicted blast radius of the bomb when he heard the explosion.

If anything, he thought, it was smaller than he’d expected.

That was, of course, to say nothing of the  _ following _ explosions. Those were  _ much _ bigger.

“Is it supposed to do that?” Cloud asked, some edge of curiosity creeping into his voice despite his best efforts.

Barret scowled. “No,” He said.

~*~*~*~

When the group split up, Cloud found himself having to take the long way. He tried not to be too obviously annoyed by that; the people around him were panicked and desolate, and a pissy guy with a large sword would cause more problems than he had already.

He was putting so much effort into maintaining his neutrality that he ran into a flower seller. Well, it wasn’t  _ entirely _ his fault, right? She’d backed into him, shaking her head and batting her hands at something he couldn’t see.

“Sorry!” She said. Then she looked around, and her expression changed to one of barely contained relief. “But, hey! You scared them off. Thanks.”

“You’re… welcome?” Cloud offered.

She grinned at him, and took a flower from her basket. “Here,” She said. “For you.”

He blinked, trying to process what was happening as she tucked it into a strap on his armor. “How much?”

“On the house,” She said.

A wind began to whip up around them, and the panic returned to her face. She grabbed his hand, and all at once he saw robed figures flying around, diving down and knocking into them.

“What the…”

“I don’t  _ know _ ,” The flower seller cried. “They’re just-- They--”

“Hey!”

Cloud turned at the voice of the security guard. “Miss,” He said, drawing his sword. “I think you’d better run.”

~*~*~*~

The fire raged around him, sweat dripping down his face as he glared at the man who wasn’t-- couldn’t be-- in front of him.

“You remember the fire, don’t you, Cloud?” Sephiroth mocked. “ _ I _ remember cold steel against your mother’s--”

“You  _ bastard _ !” Cloud yelled. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d yelled.

Sephiroth chuckled. “Fair’s fair, Cloud.” He stepped closer. “You killed  _ me _ , after all.”

“You started it.”

“And I’ll  _ finish _ it, too,” Sephiroth said. “There’s still more I can take away from you.”

Cloud drew his sword, arms shaking. “You  _ never _ knew about them. I made  _ sure _ of it. You’re not  _ real _ .”

“You can’t be sure,” Sephiroth said. “Our time together may be over-- and what a time it was!-- but you can’t be  _ sure _ .”

~*~*~*~

The train was, somehow, even worse than the sector it was evacuating. The frightened populace was crowded together, hurtling towards a destination they no longer controlled.

Cloud sat down next to Barret, who had just gotten done intimidating some Shinra employees. “When do I get my money?”

“You get your money at the damned base,” Barret said.

Cloud’s eyes narrowed. “And how do I know you won’t come up with some other excuse when we get there?”

“I won’t,” Barret said. “Hush up about money, now. The last thing we need is for people to peg you as a merc.”

“And yet, you say it,” Cloud muttered.

~*~*~*~

The slums were the same as ever. Cloud paused, taking a moment to breathe in the  _ familiarity _ of them.

“Almost home,” He said, more to himself than to any of the people around him. “Just gotta get my money, then I’ll be home.”

“Almost sound like you’re talking to a kid there, SOLDIER,” Axel teased.

Cloud leveled him with a well practiced, neutral glare.

“Well, whatever.” The red haired man laughed, raising his hands in a mockingly defensive position. “None of my business. You know your way back to base.”

Barret laughed, too. “Don’t want to keep Tifa waiting, do you?”

Cloud said nothing. Tifa wasn’t who he was worried about. She could take care of herself.

~*~*~*~

Cloud got called a junkie three separate times on his way to the AVALANCHE base, and he was sick of it. First of all, how did people suppose he even  _ got _ raw Mako down here? Second of all, he wouldn’t have touched the stuff with a twenty foot pole.

The way they said it, though. It hurt. He could only imagine whether it would have hurt worse if it were true.

Three waist height figures slammed into him as he arrived, knocking him to the ground.

“Woah,” He heard Biggs say. “Those are  _ his _ ?”

Cloud tried to ignore him. “What are you three doing here? You should be in bed by now.”

“Miss Tifa said you were gonna be here!” Ventus said. “She let us stay up to wait for you!”

“I have  _ literally _ never introduced you to Tifa,” Cloud said. “Do we have to have the stranger conversation again?”

“ _ I _ only came ‘cause these two were gonna leave me behind,” Roxas muttered into his shirt.

“Right,” Cloud said, trying to evenly distribute more head pats than he had hands for. “Well, we’ll be heading home in a few minutes. I just have to get paid.”

Namine, for her part, was already asleep. Cloud bundled her up in his arms as he stood, making eye contact with everyone in the room and daring them to say anything.

Tifa stepped forward, out of the crowd. “Cloud,” She said. “It’s been a long time.”

“Tifa,” Cloud said. “Where’s my money?”


	2. Getting Compensation For Your Lack Of Compensation

“I've been down here for five years, you know.” Tifa shifted slightly. She’d coaxed Cloud into sitting on the outside stairs with her, Roxas, Namine, and Ventus piled around him in various stages of drowsiness. “Surprised we didn’t run into each other sooner.”

“There are a lot of people down here,” Cloud said stiffly. “I don’t drink.”

“Fair enough,” Tifa said.

“How did you find me?”

“Ventus took it upon himself to look after Marlene at the playground. Plus, ‘blond guy with a huge sword who fights monsters and does odd jobs for money’ is not exactly a subtle job description.”

Cloud nodded, slowly.

“When Marlene mentioned her friend’s cousin was running low on work, well…” Tifa shrugged. “I figured it was a good time to reach out.”

“Speaking of work,” Cloud said.

“I know,” Tifa said. “The thing is, we, uh… We spent most of our money preparing for tonight.”

Cloud’s eyes narrowed.

Tifa dug in her pocket for a moment, before handing him 500 gil. “This is what we’ve got right now,” She said. “We should have enough tomorrow, after we replace everyone’s water filters? But…”

Cloud pocketed the money. “You shouldn’t hire mercs you can’t afford to pay promptly,” He said. “Someone else might not be so understanding.”

She smiled at him. “Well, then,” She said. “I should be glad we hired  _ you _ , shouldn’t I?”

Cloud looked pointedly out across the small plaza that Seventh Heaven sat in.

“Hm,” Tifa said, sounding a little disappointed. “Oh! I know! I can talk to my landlady. She’s a friend of the cause, so I should be able to convince her not to charge you rent. That’s gotta be a better deal than you’ve got going now, right?”

“I still want to be paid in full,” Cloud said.

“I know, and you will be,” Tifa promised. “Just-- Just think of it as compensation for having to wait.”

Briefly, he considered the offer. “I can accept that.”

“Great!” Tifa said. “Is there anything you have to collect from where you’re staying now? I can wait here, if you want.”

Cloud glanced down at the kids.

“Mfine,” Roxas muttered. “Watchm.”

“Okay,” Cloud said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

~*~*~*~

When Cloud returned, his and his cousins’ possessions bagged up to move, he saw that Tifa and the kids had been joined by Axel and a couple other children he didn’t recognize.

“I swear, you two are nocturnal,” Axel chuckled, moving one of the other newcomers away from where she’d been about to wake Ventus. The other took the opportunity to shake Namine awake.

“Hm?” Namine muttered. “Wassat?”

Cloud approached, trying to figure out how to position the bag and the sleeping boys in his arms so he could carry them all, but that swiftly became a moot point when the first strange child practically belly flopped onto Roxas, waking him with a start and getting Ven while she was at it.

“Xion, Marlene, we are going inside,” Axel said, tone taking on a new firmness. “Marlene, I don’t care if your dad said you could stay up this once, that doesn’t include waking up  _ other _ kids.”

“Fuck,” Marlene said.

“Hey!” Axel and Tifa said in scandalized unison.

“Cloud?” Namine said.

“... Yeah?” Cloud said, not sure whether he was more worried that she  _ would _ ask him the definition of the word, or that she  _ wouldn’t _ . “What’s up?”

“Why do you have all our stuff?” She sounded a little worried, which was fair.

“Oh, uh,” Cloud said. “Tifa’s promised to get us a better place to stay, since she owes me money she can’t pay back yet.”

Namine looked between him and Tifa. “Cloud,” She said. “You didn’t introduce us to Miss Tifa. Do we have to have the stranger talk?”

Tifa laughed.

Cloud ruffled Namine’s hair. “I knew her a long time ago,” He said. “It’ll be fine.”

“Okay,” Namine said.

Roxas and Ventus cheered.

~*~*~*~

“Marle says you can have room 202,” Tifa said. “I’m in 201, but I probably won’t be around much when I’m awake.”

Cloud nodded, adjusting his grip on his bag.

“Oh, uh, about 203…” Tifa rocked back and forth for a few moments. “He’s… interesting. Ultimately harmless. I’ll introduce you in the morning. Talk then?”

“Sure,” Cloud said. He turned to his cousins. “Come on, let’s get to bed. It’s late.”

“I’m not--” Ventus yawned-- “tired.”

“I understand completely,” Cloud said. “But I’ve been working all evening, so try not to wake me up.”

Ventus nodded.

There was one bed, which was about half a bed’s improvement from their previous setup, some boxes, a shallow closet, and a bathroom.

The kids looked around in blatant fascination, and Cloud figured he’d let them have a few minutes before he started preparing for bed.

As he took off his sword, intending to prop it up between the boxes and one of the walls, he heard a strange noise coming from next door.

Room 203.

The kids heard it, too. Roxas latched onto Namine’s arm, glaring at the wall between the two apartments, and Ventus took shelter at the foot of the bed, gaze darting uncertainly between the wall and the door.

Cloud put his sword back on. “I’ll be right back,” He said. “I’m going to go check that out.”

“Cloud.” The three of them looked up at him, eyes brimming with tears.

“Don’t worry,” Cloud said. “Anything that wants to get you has to get through me, and that’s  _ never _ going to happen.”

“Promise?” Namine asked.

He nodded. “Promise.”

He stepped out onto the walkway and closed his door behind him.

There were more sounds from apartment 203.

“So much for introductions,” He muttered. Then he knocked. “You alright in there?”

More sounds. More and more concerning sounds. He could almost make out a voice, and it didn’t sound like a happy one.

Whoever was in there was in pain.

“I’m coming in,” He said, and opened the door.

The apartment inside seemed identical to his own, or at the very least close enough to it. Where was the--

A thin, searing pain sliced through his skull, sending him staggering backwards.

The laughter chilled him to the bone. On instinct he moved to draw his sword but it caught on the top of the door frame and he had to stumble back further and then Sephiroth was on top of him and grinning that horrible grin and the kids were  _ right next door and Sephiroth was right there and-- _

“Cloud!” Tifa yelled. “Stop it! What are you--”

“Get off of me!” Cloud shifted, managing to knock Sephiroth away and starting to stand up.

“Cloud.” Tifa was in between them kneeling down to--

To--

To help up a robed, exhausted man who seemed to have no idea where he was. Cloud wasn’t sure how to feel, a million thoughts and emotions swirling around him all at once.

“Cloud, what are you doing to Marco?” She scolded. “This is his apartment.”

He looked away from her.

“Like I said, he’s not well. What were you thinking?”

“Guess I wasn’t,” He lied.

Tifa didn’t know about Sephiroth. Even if he’d wanted to tell her, how could he make her understand?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, going back and checking if the guy has a name: (=.=)>  
> Guy: *has a name*  
> Me, cannot make him a Kingdom Hearts character: (;=.=)


	3. Save The Candyman With One Simple Trick

The next day started with Tifa and Barret replacing water filters for everyone in their area of the slums and finally (finally) paying Cloud the rest of his money.

“You could get some more jobs in this area of the sector,” Tifa suggested. “There are people you can ask, who can keep track of this sort of thing. Or you could join the neighborhood watch. They’re hoping to up security, considering current events, but they’re a bit short staffed.”

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Who’s on the watch?”

“Biggs, Wedge, and Axel,” Tifa said.

“Okay,” Cloud said. “Let me get this straight. The neighborhood watch is increasing security because of the recent bombing by AVALANCHE.”

“Yes.”

“And the neighborhood watch is composed entirely of--”

“Yes.”

“This sounds like the start of a comedy sketch,” he said. “I really,  _ really _ hope you’re all aware of this fact.”

“Who watches the watchmen?” Tifa shrugged. “You  _ should _ get in on it, though. It’s a good way for you to get your name out there, get some more work. The watch itself is volunteer, but--”

“But advertising is a commodity on its own,” Cloud said. “Fine. I’ll help out.”

She beamed at him. Then her expression shifted. “Oh,” she said. “I’ve been meaning to ask; what are you planning on doing with that flower? If you keep it  _ there _ , it’ll dry out, or get crushed, or something.”

“Huh? Oh.” He handed it to her. “Here. If you know how to keep it alive, you do it. I’ve got to go get some more work.”

He wandered off.

Tifa looked at the flower in her hands. “You really don’t know a thing about flowers, do you?” She muttered wryly.

~*~*~*~

“You’re it!” Xion declared, batting Roxas on the shoulder and running off as he and his siblings approached the other kids.

“Hey, no fair!” Roxas whined, taking off after her.

The children scattered, laughing and shrieking, and all was lost in the face of the game.

When they were all out of breath but none of them wanted to admit it yet, they heard sounds of struggle.

As one, the children turned and watched a group of Shinra security guards dragging Johnny past, towards some unknown destination.

“We gotta help him,” Namine said. “That’s what Cloud would do.”

“Is it?” Xion asked. “I thought he was a mercenary.”

“It’s what Cloud would do for any of  _ us _ ,” Ventus said. “Because Nami, Roxas, and I are his cousins and he loves us.”

Roxas nodded. “That’s the store guy, though. Do we love the store guy?”

“He’s got candy at the store,” Marlene said.

The kids considered that.

“Well, let’s go get him,” Xion said.

“Yeah.”

“Yup.”

“Let’s go.”

The five of them went after the security guards.

~*~*~*~

By the time they got to where the guards had stopped, they had armed themselves to their own satisfactions.

Namine had an armload of rocks, Roxas and Xion each carried a rusty pipe, Ventus had picked up a crowbar, and Marlene had found a particularly sharp rock which she would use to cut Johnny out of his ropes while the guards were distracted, since she was the youngest.

The plan was simple.

Namine started it off, climbing up onto a roof and tossing rocks down at the guards. Her first strike connected with one of their helmets, catching their attention.

“What the  _ fuck _ do you think  _ you’re _ doing, kid?” The one she’d hit demanded.

“Nyeh!” She called back, sticking her tongue out and thumbing her nose at the guy.

He went for his gun, but one of the others put a hand on his shoulder. “Hey, we don’t  _ shoot  _ kids unless  _ they’ve _ got guns.”

“What’s going on?” Johnny asked.

“Not a word out of you unless you’re explaining yourself,” another guard snapped.

Namine threw another rock, hitting  _ that _ guard.

“Where are your parents?” The second guard called up to her. “Because we need to have a chat with them about your behavior after this.”

Roxas, Ventus, and Xion charged, beginning to hit the guards with their various blunt instruments.

“Wh-- Hey!”

The guards put up a valiant effort, in their own opinions, but unfortunately three of the kids involved in the whole situation had been being raised by a (paranoid ex-)SOLDIER for multiple years by that point and the ones that hadn’t been were being raised by AVALANCHE. Some stuff had rubbed off on them.

When the guards were unconscious and Johnny was untied, there was a moment of silence.

“Do you think they’re going to go after him again?” Marlene asked.

“Why’d they even do that in the first place?” Xion countered.

“They thought I went into a Shinra warehouse,” Johnny said. “I’ve never been anywhere  _ near _ a Shinra warehouse! I’d think Jessie jacked my ID, except they said it wasn’t even  _ my _ ID.”

“Hm,” all the kids said.

“I think they’re gonna come after him again,” Namine said, climbing down from the roof.

Johnny reached up and helped her down. “I’m gonna have to skip town, huh.”

“Can we have candy before you go?” Roxas asked.

All of the kids looked up at him pleadingly. For a moment, Johnny let himself wonder why Marlene was the only one  _ without _ mako-blue eyes.

“Yeah, alright,” he said. “I can get you kids some candy for saving my life.”

~*~*~*~

“We’re not hiring you for our next mission,” Barret growled. “So get out. This next part’s a  _ private _ affair.”

“Which is why you’re having it in the bar, rather than the secret underground area  _ under _ the bar,” Cloud muttered. “Right, I’m out.”

Jessie shrugged at him from behind Barret, and gave him a helpless ‘I tried’ smile. Cloud didn’t meet her gaze.

As he walked out of the bar, he saw a small collection of people in out of place outfits, loitering around and complaining loudly about having a shit job and not being able to find someone.

He walked up to them.

“And what do  _ you _ want?” One of them jeered.

“I heard you fellows were looking for someone,” He said.

They looked around at each other, before beginning to fan out and surround him.

“As a matter of fact,” one said. “We are. Big fucker, machine gun on his arm. Know where he’s at?"

Cloud tried not to think too hard about the bar he’d literally just walked out of. “I might,” he said.

“Oh, might you?” The gang-- it  _ had _ to be a gang, didn’t it?-- laughed. “You looking for a little  _ compensation _ for your efforts, then?”

“500 gil,” Cloud said.

“200.” The speaker now seemed to be their leader, or at least as close as they got to one.

He crossed his arms. “300.”

“Fine, 300.” The leader threw up his hands in resignation. “Come on, let’s talk about this somewhere we won’t be overheard. Don’t want anyone stealing our thunder.”

The group was incredibly rude to the people of the town, as they walked through it. Cloud spared a few quiet apologies for the people who took a little too much force, hoping to save face and get more jobs later.

Soon, though, their surroundings were empty and silent.

“So, where is he?”

“Money first,” Cloud said.

“ _ Information _ first,” the leader said.

Cloud rolled his eyes. “Half up front.”

“No. Information first.” The man motioned, and his lackeys began to draw weapons. “Or are you wasting our time, mako junkie?”

“Are you wasting mine?” Cloud countered, ignoring their missed mark jab as he raised an eyebrow and drew his sword.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember being a child and having incredibly straightforward priorities. I probably would have joined a combat squad of other children to save a cashier from the grocery store, if it came to that.


	4. How To Ride A Bike

It wasn’t an easy fight, but Cloud had been a SOLDIER, first class, for a reason.

He put his sword away, and left the corpses behind, opting to check on the townsfolk and try to pick up some more work.

There was some. Not as much as he would have liked, but it was there. There was a lot  _ more _ gossip, which he only kept half an ear on.

“Oh, maybe he’d know!”

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He stiffened, suppressing his reflexes, and turned. “Yeah?”

“There’s, uh,” the person said, nerves catching up to them as they actually spoke to him. Their companion tried not to duck behind them too conspicuously. “There’s rumors, right? About a lab underground down here somewhere.”

Cloud inclined his head, indicating that he was listening.

“We were wondering… if you knew anything about it? Like, if you knew whether it was real or not?”

“It’d be news to me,” he said. “Was that all?”

“Uh.” The two who’d approached him looked at each other. “Yeah, that was all. Sorry! Bye!”

They ran off.

Cloud decided it was time to go back to his apartment.

~*~*~*~

When he entered, Jessie, Marlene, and Xion were hanging out with his cousins. All the kids had candy.

“Cloud!” Ventus said, taking a half a second head start to slam into him just before his siblings.

“Hey, you.” He put his arms around them for a moment. “What’s with the guests?”

“Johnny gave them all candy before declaring he was going on a ‘journey of self discovery’,” Jessie said. “So I’d assume they were hanging out before that, too.”

“Okay,” Cloud said. “And what about you?”

“Got a job for you,” She said. “I want to go up to the plate tonight for, uh, personal reasons. But there’s a  _ lot _ of security, so…”

“You need a bodyguard.”

“It’d be nice.”

“Yeah, I can do that.” He took off his sword and put it away for the time being. “Anything you need to prepare before tonight?”

She tossed him an orb of materia, and he turned it over in his hands. A summon? “That’s your down payment,” She said. “The rest on completion.”

Cloud nodded, and tucked it away. “Glad  _ someone  _ knows how to treat a merc around here,” he muttered, thinking of the people who’d been looking for Barret earlier that afternoon.

She laughed. “I  _ tried _ to get them to hire you on again,” She said. “Tifa’s great, don’t get me wrong, but her heart’s just not in it!”

“Neither is mine,” Cloud said. “It’s just a job.”

“Besides,” Jessie said, stepping up to him as her voice dropped into a low purr. “ _ You’re _ a professional.”

“Yes,” Cloud said. “You never answered my question, you know. Is there anything you need to prepare before tonight’s job?”

She frowned. “Yeah, a few things,” she said. “I’ll go take care of that now. See you at the station after sundown.”

She left.

Cloud flopped over onto the bed and groaned.

“You shut her  _ down _ ,” Roxas said.

“Huh? But he took the job?” Marlene looked around at the older kids in confusion.

“You’ll understand when you’re older,” Xion said in the voice of someone who was repeating some sort of mantra.

“Come on, tell me what that means!”

~*~*~*~

Cloud stopped by Seventh Heaven to make sure AVALANCHE knew where their own kids were, and Tifa promised to head to Cloud’s apartment to watch them while he was out.

Then, he met Jessie at the station. She was looking down the tracks, trying to spot a train.

“Did I miss one?”

“No, no trains,” she said.

“Yeah, they changed the schedule,” Axel said.

Cloud and Jessie turned, seeing Axel and Wedge approach with a pair of motorbikes.

“No trains at night except in case of an emergency evacuation,” Wedge agreed. “But, hey. We know you want to visit your parents topside. That’s cool.”

Cloud glanced at Jessie. A summon materia as a  _ down payment _ meant she either loved her parents very, very much or that she wasn’t visiting them tonight.

“We want to come with,” Axel said. “Not like  _ we _ got parents. Share yours!”

“Alright, alright!” She laughed.

A few minutes later, they were mounted on the bikes (Cloud and Jessie on one, Axel and Wedge on the other) and were on their way.

“Can you hear me?” Jessie asked.

“Yeah.”

“We’re not visiting my parents.”

“I figured.”

~*~*~*~

“Damn, will these Shinra bastards let up?” Axel complained.

One of the Shinra bikes began to glow, and then exploded, almost as an answer.

“What the  _ fuck _ ?” Wedge yelled.

Axel’s eyes widened. He watched in horror as another bike landed between the one he was on and the one carrying Cloud and Jessie. On the back of that bike…

One of the men was a SOLDIER, third class. The other was  _ Saix _ .

“Oh, shit,” Axel said, already thinking up excuses.

The SOLDIER, called himself Roche, was driving, and he was more focused on Cloud, but Saix turned to Axel and raised an eyebrow as the Shinra bike accelerated. Whatever challenge had been issued (Axel hadn’t been paying attention to that part) Cloud had obviously accepted, speeding after them.

“Axel?” Wedge said. “You have to loosen your grip, dude, you’re cutting off my blood supply.”

“Sorry,” Axel said, moving his hands. “I just…”

“This is our first time seeing an  _ active _ SOLDIER, right?” Wedge proffered. “Pretty impressive.”

“He’s third class, it’s not  _ that _ impressive,” Axel said. “Just… catch up, will you? And don’t ignore the other man on that bike.”

Wedge accelerated.

Roche and Cloud  _ seemed _ to just be racing. Axel wouldn’t have put money on that.

The back wheel of Cloud and Jessie’s bike began to glow.

“Oi!” Axel stood up on the bike, putting his hands back on Wedge’s shoulders. “Saix! Looky here!”

“Axel what are you doing?” Wedge hissed.

“Giving Cloud a chance to drive them off before him and Jessie get killed.”

“You’re going to get  _ us _ killed!”

The glow faded from Cloud’s tire as Saix turned to look at Axel.

“Yeah, come on!” Axel yelled, turning his attention away from Wedge. “ _ I’m _ much more fun than helping your buddy there cheat at a race,  _ aren’t  _ I?”

“Axel,” Wedge said.

Saix’s eyes narrowed, and he said something to Roche.

“Meet you at the station,” Axel said, pulling himself up to kick off one of Wedge’s shoulders and meet Saix in the air.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished the next chapter so i figured, uh. postin
> 
> I was trying to figure out how to integrate more of the kh characters into this and long story short I got too many subplots syndrome and there is no treatment


	5. Group Projects Never Work

The bikes were gone before they collided. The two men knocked each other back and hit the ground rolling.

“What’d you tell yours?” Saix asked.

“Pretty much jack shit,” Axel said. “My usual crowd only knows Xion and I’ve been in the area longer than they have, and I just told my ride buddy not to write you off. What about you?”

“It  _ was _ a Shinra lab,” Saix said. “But I’d doubt Roche has been briefed on this  _ particular _ topic. I’m on security. Why do  _ you _ ride tonight?”

“Pretty fucked up if  _ you’re  _ on security.  _ I’m _ visiting a friend’s parents on the plate.” Axel shrugged. “She didn’t want to go alone, so…”

“With a SOLDIER?”

“Ex SOLDIER, he says. Don’t recognize the name, but hey. I never kept up with their roster. Presently, he’s a mercenary. Bit of an odd jobs man, really. Saw him finding cats for one of the local kids earlier.”

“I see.” Saix shot an appraising glance in the direction of the bikes. “Do you think he might know anything about AVALANCHE?”

_ This _ was the part of the conversation Axel had been dreading. “I’d doubt he knows much more than average, if that. He might be willing to try and play spy, if you  _ paid _ him, but…”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Saix said. “In the meantime, however, I’ve got something for you.”

“What?” Axel tried not to look too excited. “Really?”

Saix punched him in the face. “Making contact during a  _ chase _ ? While I’m sharing a bike with a  _ SOLDIER _ ? Are you  _ nuts _ ?”

“He’s third class!” Axel protested. “And he coulda killed my friend!”

“He’s still going to file a report,” Saix said.

“Eh, tell him my eyes are  _ green _ , you wouldn’t  _ technically _ be lying. Besides, guy like that? You’re not gonna convince me he’ll file a report if he loses.”

“Roche doesn’t lose,” Saix said. “Not only that, but Shinra knows enough about where he is and what he’s got with him that he’d have to regardless.”

“Yeah, nice bike by the way.”

“Get lost. I’ll tell him I beat you to crap and you ran away, he’ll believe it.”

“Alright, alright,” Axel laughed. “Give that lot our regards.”

He heard explosions as he walked away. That wasn’t a surprise. It had to be believable, after all.

~*~*~*~

“What do you mean, he jumped off the bike?” Jessie said.

“I  _ mean _ he jumped off the bike!” Wedge said. “He told me to wait for him here!”

“At those speeds, he’s probably dead,” Cloud said. “Him  _ and _ that guy Roche was riding with.”

“Axel called him Saix.”

“Why’s Axel know someone  _ that obviously _ deep in the Shinra shit?” Jessie asked. “It doesn’t make sense.”

“Someone that deep in the Shinra shit who we saw explode a bike with his mind so Roche could race Cloud,” Wedge said.

“With his  _ mind _ ?” Jessie and Cloud said in unison.

Wedge nodded.

“You’re sure?” Cloud said.

“Yeah,” Wedge said. “He almost did it to one of your wheels, too, but--”

The thin, searing pain in his head hit Cloud full force, images flashing across his mind.

“Cloud?” Jessie said.

“I…” Cloud took his hand from his head (when had it gotten there?) and looked at them. “There was something I remember hearing about, pretty much right before I left.”

The others looked at him with bated breath.

“I think it was called… Project XIII?” He put his hand on his chin, then, thinking hard. “I don’t remember much about it, but… something about what you said rings a bell.”

“That still doesn’t explain why Axel knows him,” Jessie said.

“Knew,” Cloud corrected. “They jumped off the bikes. At that speed, they’ll be dead by now. It’d take some serious mako integration to prevent that.”

“Axel’s eyes are green,” Jessie sighed. “Cloud’s right, there’s no way.”

Wedge looked back along the tracks they’d come up. “Do you think they’ll find his body?”

“We can take the same way back and check later, if you’d rather,” Cloud said. “Jessie. You had a job for me.”

“I do,” she said, voice tinged with regret. She took Wedge’s shoulder, turning him away from the tracks. “Come on. Let’s… get some supplies.”

They started to leave.

“Breaking my  _ heart _ over here, you guys!”

Cloud was the first to turn, sword already in his hands and positioned defensively before the other two were finished processing the sound.

Behind them stood Axel, for all appearances completely unharmed. The train tracks glowed a heated, fading orange.

“Axel!” Wedge and Jessie cheered.

Clouds eyes narrowed. This  _ couldn’t _ have been Axel, because Axel had jumped off a moving bike, and  _ Axels eyes were green. _ But Wedge and Jessie had already abandoned that logic, hugging the man in their relief to see what was apparently their friend alive and unharmed.

Cloud put his sword away. “Don’t startle me like that again,” he said, trying to imply with his glare that any perceived threat would not be tolerated.

“Right, I won’t.” The man who Cloud was unconvinced was Axel laughed. The disguise was too perfect. His eyes were even still green. “Wouldn’t want to get on a SOLDIERs bad side.”

Then Jessie explained the goal of their mission that evening.

“I guess visiting your parents was too good to be true,” Wedge sighed.

“With security as it is now?” Axel said. “Most things are.”

~*~*~*~

“Did I hear right?” Demyx’s laugh took on a tinny quality as it came out of Saix’s communicator. “ _ Roche _ lost a race? You  _ have _ to be kidding.”

“I am not,” Saix said. “Apparently, the opponent he selected was a former first class. It was, ah, quite the  _ burn _ on his ego.”

“I’m right here, you know,” Roche said testily as he accelerated. “I don’t see why you have to call ahead to tell him  _ that _ .”

“Oh, was it?” Demyx said, ignoring Roche entirely. The levity was starting to drop from his voice.

“Yes,” Saix said. “He was practically seeing  _ red _ .”

“I’m going to take that away from you,” Roche grumbled.

“That  _ is _ something,” Demyx said. “What would someone like that be doing out on the road at this time, anyways?”

“More than he let on, most likely, but that’s to be expected from guys like that.” Saix tightened his grip on his communicator and Roches shoulder as they took a tight corner particularly quickly. “I’m still more concerned about why  _ I’m _ out here, though.

“Because you are the one of us that most directly explodes shit, and there was an explosion in a reactor, and they wanted you supervised and away from any Shinra facilities in the evenings for the foreseeable future to keep liability from falling onto the Program?” Demyx suggested.

Saix scoffed. “Doesn’t explain why they had to stick me with your brother.”

“I’m sure they figured it would discourage you a little bit, when it comes to ideas like jumping off the bike.”

“ _ I’m _ sure they know better than that.”

Demyx laughed. “Yeah, well, probably. Any actual messages, or…?”

“Things seem to be going well, on the larger scale,” Saix said. “Regards.”

“Copy that?”

“Absolutely.”

Demyx sighed in relief and hung up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Project XIII will return in ~~the Avengers~~ later chapters. I went back and forth on how much to reveal about it now but. we good 👍


	6. List Of Violent Criminals Okayed By The Union

Jessie held up the ID card. “ _ I’m _ busting into the warehouse.  _ You three _ are distracting the guards for me.”

“That’s  _ it _ ?” Wedge said. “I’m almost disappointed.”

“Hey, it’s an important job,” Jessie shot back. “And I only have the one ID, so deal with it.”

“I’m not happy about this, either,” Axel said. “Not exactly excited to have eyes on me so soon after that little encounter.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Jessie said.

“I’m not saying you don’t!” Axel said hurriedly. “And I  _ definitely _ do not want to head into the warehouse with you. I’ll play diversion, but it won’t be pretty.”

“Right,” Jessie said. “There’s an empty lot just outside the security line. Meet you there.”

~*~*~*~

Jessie hopped a wall, but the other three went around to a gate.

The guards that had been on duty there were unconscious.

“Oh, shit,” Wedge muttered.

“Hey,” Axel said, almost offended. “ _ We’re _ the only ones allowed to do that.”

They moved further into the compound, eventually coming to a stop just outside a large courtyard.

“Doors metal?” Wedge asked.

“Probably,” Cloud said.

“What about the ground around them?”

Cloud was about to answer, when Axel shook his head. “Not enough,” he said. “The ground’s mostly concrete. Metal frames, but not enough for welding to hold without more time than we’ve got.”

“Guess we’ll have to take all the waves, then,” Wedge sighed.

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Axel chuckled.

A flare went off overhead.

“Well, in we go,” Wedge said.

Cloud took the first step into the courtyard. Already, guns were blazing, and he blocked the bullets with his sword.

The first few waves were… almost predictable. Soon, however, Cloud saw the doors starting to open to release another wave, only to be coated in ice.

“Shit,” Axel breathed.

“You're a demolition expert,” Wedge teased, voice tight. “I thought you’d be able to handle a little ice.”

The sound of a single pair of footsteps drew their attention to a man in a white lab coat, The edges of it were stained with something that might have been mako, and he glared as he approached. Cloud couldn’t see his eyes, but he would have bet money on the color.

He sniffed. “I heard you were in the area, but I  _ never _ thought you’d be foolish enough to come  _ here _ .”

Cloud and Wedge looked at each other, and then at Axel.

“Figured I’d catch up a little,” Axel said. “I mean, already saw one of you. Thought I might make a reunion of it. How’ve  _ you _ been, Vexen?”

Vexen spared imperious looks for Wedge and Cloud. “What do you think?”

More footsteps, and they were surrounded by guards again.

“We’ll take it from here,” one of them said, nodding to Vexen.

The sound of a bike edged into Cloud’s hearing. He turned slightly, tracking the sound.

Axel’s head snapped in the other direction, towards the warehouse.

“Get down!” They said in unison.

The ice coating the doors exploded, and Roches bike landed on top of one of the guards, running over a few more before the crowd was far enough back for the SOLDIERs liking.

“Thought we were done?” Roches voice was purring more than his bike. Saix scoffed wordlessly and dismounted, nodding to Vexen as Roche continued. “Come on, let’s  _ dance _ .”

Axel tapped Wedge on the shoulder, and motioned him to follow as he left the circle with the people he so inexplicably knew. Wedge hesitated, but Cloud nodded at him to go.

“The stains on your coat are gone,” Wedge realized, glancing Vexen over again.

“It’s not like I’d  _ really _ wear something  _ dirty _ in  _ public _ .” The man looked at him in kind, before turning to Axel. “Where  _ did _ you pick these two up?”

“What, looking for a set of your own?” Axel joked. “Good luck.”

Saix raised an eyebrow. “Having a  _ blast, _ VIII?”

“Oh,  _ fuck _ you,” Axel laughed, giving the blue haired man a light-hearted shove as Cloud and Roche started to duke it out in the background. “What’s your friend back there up to?”

“He seems to enjoy the challenge,” Saix said. “He’ll be out of that train of thought eventually, although whether it will be tonight is anyone’s guess.”

~*~*~*~

Roche fled, declaring  _ something _ about how this wasn’t over, and Cloud looked around.

Lots of enemies. No Axel and Wedge.

He swore, glancing up towards the sky. As if on cue, the second flare went off.

“Well, won’t  _ I _ have some explaining to do?” He muttered, and made a beeline for the exit.

~*~*~*~

“Cloud?” Jessie said. “Where are the others?”

“That SOLDIER from before and Axels friend came back,” Cloud said. “Another man he knew, too. SOLDIER demanded a one on one, so Axel and Wedge got out of the way, but they were gone entirely before it was over.”

“Do you think they’re okay?” Jessie asked, stepping forward to take hold of the front of Cloud’s shirt.

“I  _ think _ that Axel double crossed us,” Cloud said. “If he was even Axel by the time we got here. I should have kept a closer eye on--”

“What are you talking about?” Jessie demanded. “Of  _ course _ he was Axel, and Axel would  _ never _ betray us.”

“It’d take the mako integration of a bioweapon to survive a jump off the bikes at the speeds we were riding at,” Cloud said. “Put it together yourself. We’ve got your explosive, let’s head home.”

“So soon?”

The two whirled.

The man sitting on a nearby box could barely have been called as such. The sleeves of his lab coat were just a little bit too long for him, rolled up to leave his hands unhindered, and his hair flopped over one of his eyes. The one that was visible was mako blue.

“We don’t get out much,” he said. “So it’s nice to meet new people. I thought I’d come see you, since our other guests left so soon.”

Cloud drew his sword, and Jessie mirrored the action with her gun.

The stranger looked at them, disappointed. It was almost like they’d failed a test. “I don’t know what he sees in you,” he said. “I won’t stop you from leaving, and I won’t tell the handlers or the top two you were here, but just this once. That’s my assessment.”

There was a short, tense silence. Then, Cloud put his sword away. “Like I said,” he said to Jessie. “Let’s get out of here.”

~*~*~*~

The other materia would have been worth the mission, if it weren’t for Clouds lingering sense of unease about Axel and Wedge’s disappearance. He made some excuses to Jessie, and went back to his apartment.

Marlene and Xion were gone, probably home, and Roxas, Namine, and Ventus were passed out on the bed. Tifa had left, seemingly satisfied with the outcome. Cloud couldn’t say he disagreed.

He went to bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's the right chapter this time I promise（＞人＜；）ig I was more tired last night (+ when I posted the /last/ chapter, bc I should have indicated it and I didn't) than I thought. I should start getting the chapter titles figured out earlier for this one too


	7. Top Ten Flammable Building Materials

He could hear Sephiroth whispering in his ear, and he twitched in bed, desperately trying to wake up.

The door slammed open, providing the final catalyst he needed to sit bolt upright, out of breath.

Ventus squeaked indignantly, having been thrown off his chest. Roxas and Namine stirred.

“Cloud!” Tifa ordered, more than a tinge of genuine fear in her voice. “We have to get to the bar, now!”

He nodded, snagging his sword. “What’s happening?”

She pointed out of the room, like that was all the explanation necessary. He reached the door, and saw the strange, robed figures that had assaulted the flower seller swarming the town.

He gestured for the kids to come with him. He didn’t want to leave them alone in this situation.

The five of them made their way through town, Cloud and Tifa fighting through the strange figures. The kids followed, watching with a vague curiosity.

They reached the bar to see Barret and Jessie shooting at the figures, which seemed to be concentrating on them to an absurd degree.

“That one’s behaving different,” Cloud said, pointing to one of the robes.

“Charming,” Tifa groaned.

“Cloud?” Namine asked.

“Just a minute, okay?” He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring glance before jumping up to fight some more of the robes.

He heard more guns join the fray.

“Look who  _ finally _ showed up!” Barret said.

“Cut us a break, will you?” Axel answered. “We were out!”

Cloud hissed under his breath.

“Gonna have a hell of a time explaining why!”

Axel laughed. It was an odd, stilted sound, and Clouds head started to hurt.

The odd robe dove towards Jessie, and she unloaded her gun right into where it should have had a face, stumbling backwards.

Her foot landed just a little bit too far over the edge of one of the stairs, and she toppled as the robes screeched and vanished.

“Jessie!” AVALANCHE gathered around her, helping her up and into the bar.

“Cloud, what’s going on?” Roxas asked. “What were you all doing and yelling about?”

Ventus nodded. “Why did you look like it was so windy?”

“You didn’t--?” Cloud glanced between the kids and the bar.

“We didn’t see anything,” Namine said. “It was scary, watching that.”

Cloud considered that. “We should go inside,” he decided. “I need to sit down.”

They went inside, just as Jessie tried to stand up and had to get caught as her leg gave way underneath her.

“Jessie, you can’t come,” Biggs said. “Not on that leg.”

“Should someone stay behind with her?” Axel asked. “I’m willing to volunteer.”

“That’d be both our demolitions people when we’re carrying around a bomb, so no,” Barret said. “Biggs, Wedge, you two can stay.”

“What?” Biggs yelped.

“Why us?” Wedge asked.

“Because you went on an unauthorized excursion, and Biggs can cook and run the bar for Tifa,” Barret said.

“And he can’t put  _ me _ on slum arrest when Jessie’s out of commission, so he’s in a bad mood from having to postpone my punishment,” Axel said.

Barret growled.

“Axel, do you know how to operate  _ this _ type of bomb?” Jessie asked. “I know we’re coming at this business from two different angles, but I still don’t know what yours is.”

“I know enough,” Axel said vaguely.

Cloud raised an eyebrow. “And what exactly  _ is _ your specialty?”

“Oh, it’s arson,” Axel said brightly. “I happen to hold a world record for the biggest fire set by a single person.”

“Really,” Cloud said.

Axel nodded.

“Which fire?”

Axel seemed to realize what he’d said. “Uh.”

“That’s not the point,” Barret said. “Point is, it looks like we might be needing a merc again. You in?”

Cloud looked over the rest of the crowd. Jessie was giving him a thumbs up, Tifa looked worried, Axel didn’t seem to care, Biggs and Wedge were very obviously annoyed, and the kids just wanted him to explain what had happened outside.

“I want a raise,” he decided.

“Done.”

“Then sure.”

They shook hands.

“Is someone gonna explain outside now that Cloud’s employed again?” Ventus asked.

Everyone looked at each other.

“They didn’t see anything,” Cloud said. “Just wind.”

“That is horrible to think about,” Axel said.

“I really, really hope we aren’t forced to consider what that might mean,” Biggs agreed.

“Enough of that,” Barret said. “Wedge, Axel, what were you doing out?”

“Uh…” Wedge said.

“I think Jessie could explain that a bit better, actually,” Axel said. “We  _ started _ the evening with her and Cloud.”

Barret turned to glare at Jessie and Cloud.

“I feel like we’re getting off topic here,” Namine said.

“There were monsters,” Cloud told her. Then he turned to Barret. “Jessie gave me two very good materia to accompany her to the plate. Those two just tagged along.”

“You are all little snitches, you know that?” Jessie said. “I don’t know  _ how _ AVALANCHE has survived this long.”

“Why did you go up to the plate?” Barret asked.

“That’s not important,” Jessie said. “Why don’t you ask  _ Cloud _ why he decided to leave Wedge and Axel behind?”

“Because we were out of eyesight and it would have been incredibly risky to go looking for us again?” Wedge suggested.

“Because he thought we were dead?” Axel added.

Cloud didn’t sigh; there wasn’t a point. He was going to have to air this now. “Because I thought  _ Wedge _ might be dead,” he said. “Or captured.  _ You, _ I had no concerns about, since you seemed to be on a first name basis with half of everyone we saw up there.”

“Axel,” Biggs said carefully. “ _ How _ did you end up in the slums again?”

“I burned down my old place when I quit my first job,” Axel said. “Lots of other places around it, too.”

“And what  _ was _ that job?” Cloud asked. “What did you do for Shinra?”

“You can’t just assume--” Jessie began.

“Arson,” Axel said, unperturbed. “Not exactly a pleasant job, but it was mine.”

The pain shot through Clouds head again, and he remembered fire and hurt and fear.

“Cloud?” Tifa said.

“Tell me, Axel,” Cloud said, and his voice was tighter than anyone had expected, least of all himself. “Have you ever been to a village called Nibelheim?”

Tifa stepped forward. “Cloud, if you’re accusing Axel of  _ burning down _ our--”

“He’s right to be concerned about it,” Axel said. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know. They never told me where I was, just what to burn. I left as soon as I could, but… not a lot of choices back then. You know, SOLDIER?”

Cloud glared at Axel for a long moment. Finally, he spoke. “I want a  _ big _ raise, if  _ he _ has to come along on this.”

Barret sighed. “Fine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me, including Axel: Fire Man Hoo Hoo  
> Me, remembering Cloud and Tifas home town got burned down in the Sephiroth attack:


	8. How to talk to your old coworkers

“Are you okay?” Xion asked.

Axel turned away from where he’d been staring over the rooftops of the District 7 slums. “How’d  _ you _ get up here?”

“Climbed, same as you.” She sat down. “I heard Cloud get mad at you. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, kid.” He ruffled her hair. She’d never been deployed. She was too young. “Just thinking.”

She didn’t know what he felt like, caught between the drive for fire that had been burned into his bones and the revulsion of knowing exactly what it could do. With luck, she never would. Not with fire, not with anything.

“Barret said it’s almost time for you to go,” Xion said.

“Well, then.” Axel slid himself closer to the edge of the roof, and stood. “We’d best get down, hadn’t we?”

“Yeah!” Xion moved up next to him, and he picked her up.

“Oof!” He said. “You’re getting big, you know that?”

The pair of them laughed, and Axel dropped off the roof, bending his knees on the landing.

“You be good while I’m gone again, alright?”

“I will!”

“That’s my girl.”

~*~*~*~

“Emergency ID scan in progress.”

As empty as it almost was, the train car erupted into worry and complaint as the red light passed through.

“Four unauthorized IDs detected. Initiating emergency security procedures.”

“Shit,” Barret said.

“Get everyone out of the car,” Tifa said. She turned to the nearest passenger, a middle manager for Shinra. “You. Help anyone who’s having trouble walking get out.”

“Three minutes until car lockdown.”

“Me?” The man said. “I’m not a--”

“I don’t care what you are or aren’t,” Tifa insisted. “Get out. Get everyone out. Get to safety.”

“But--”

“Listen to her, man!” Axel said. “She knows what she’s doing!”

The man looked between them, nodded, and started helping people out of the car.

~*~*~*~

“They’re just going to keep coming,” Cloud said.

“We have to get off this train,” Barret said.

“At  _ this _ speed?” Axel said. “I’m not an expert, but I’m pretty sure that’s how you end up with corpses.”

“Two or three,” Cloud muttered.

Barret knocked the door off the back of the car. “We’ll  _ definitely _ be corpses if we stay here. Let’s go!”

Tifa slammed her fist into a panel at the side of the car, and it detached from the rest of the train and activated its brakes.

Barret stumbled.

“Barret!” Axel yelled, lunging to grab hold of the other man before they both fell off the train.

“No!” Tifa yelled.

“Come on.” Cloud held out his hand.

She looked between him and the door, and took it, nodding.

~*~*~*~

The tunnels were full of enemies, too, but at least they caught up with Barret and Axel soon enough.

“Yeah, I dumped 7 potions in the guy, he should be fine,” Axel said.

“I was fine anyways!” Barret complained.

“You fell out of a moving train.”

“So did you!”

“Enough,” Tifa said. “Do we know where we are? What plan are we at?”

~*~*~*~

“Sheesh, no wonder people take the trains,” Axel complained good-naturedly. “They’re  _ way _ faster than this.”

“Yeah, no shit,” Barret said.

~*~*~*~

Cloud ripped another web out of their path. “Can’t  _ you _ get rid of these, arsonist?”

“No one’s stopping  _ you _ from setting anything on fire,” Axel shot back. “Spells are  _ much _ more precise than I am.”

“I thought you were  _ proud _ of your fire setting abilities,” Cloud said venomously.

“Cloud,” Tifa scolded. “Not the time.”

“I set  _ big _ fires, SOLDIER boy.” Axel crossed his arms, pushing ahead of the group. “All or nothing with  _ this _ maniac, and believe me, you don’t want ‘all’ down here.”

~*~*~*~

“Fucking bugs!!”

~*~*~*~

Finally, they reached the entrance to the railyard. The security guards were easily dispatched, all things considered.

“Too easy,” Cloud muttered.

“Let's find the stairs,” Barret said. “That gate’s not opening any time soon.”

“Aw,” a new voice groaned. “Does this mean I actually have to  _ do _ something?”

Cloud drew his sword, preparing for the worst as he turned towards the sound.

There was a man, sitting on top of a large pile of metal that was starting to stand.

“Oh, shit,” Axel said brightly.

“Well, hello to you, too.” The man leaned back. “Name’s Demyx, nice to meet everyone, yadda yadda. I’d ask your names, but I don’t really have the energy to care.”

The machine finished standing, revealing itself to be an old, crab-like war machine.

“Welcome to the railyard,” Demyx said. “Please, feel free to run. Saves me trouble.”

“Fat chance of that,” Cloud said.

Barret nodded, and zapped the machine under the man with a thunder spell.

Demyx swore as the thing began to move, catching himself on one of its seams as it almost threw him off in its haste to demolish the intruders.

~*~*~*~

It was a heavily armored thing. Cloud remembered something like it from his SOLDIER days. An older war machine. What was it doing here?

The thing was trying  _ so _ hard to step on him, and nearly bucked Demyx off every time it moved.

It managed it with its death throes, sending him rolling into the fence with its final motions.

“Alright, Demyx,” Barret said. “We gonna do things the easy way, or the hard way?”

Demyx rubbed his head. “Yeah, let me see,” he said, and pulled a box off his belt, looking at it. “Hm.”

Barret aimed his arm.

The passage began to rumble. Axel glanced behind them. “Fuck,” he muttered.

“Mm-mm,” Demyx said.

A huge wall of water slammed into them, knocking their breaths out of them and lifting them off the ground.

It deposited AVALANCHE, coughing, at the top of the stairs that would get them over the gate. The stairs themselves were largely demolished below their position.

“Oh, shit,” Demyx said, from exactly where he’d been. “Now you’re all the way up there. What am I gonna do now?”

“Suck a dick, Demyx,” Axel coughed.

“Eat shit, Axel,” Demyx replied. “Get lost.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Axel: You behave while I'm off committing domestic terrorism, okay?  
> Xion: This is a reasonable request that causes no cognitive dissonance whatsoever. I'm going to agree to it and then eat a hundred candy bars in a row while you're gone


	9. Ways To Get Your Shirt Off Without Showing Weakness

“The sun lamps over sector four are going down.” Vexen looked up from the monitor he’d rigged to keep track of the sensors. “Who’s messing with the power?”

Larxene waved her hand vaguely. “Don’t look at me, Demyx was supposed to be guarding them.”

“Who put Demyx on guard duty?” Luxord asked.

“He’s obviously a decoy,” Zexion said, looking up from his book. “I just hope Axel isn’t back  _ again _ .”

“Fuck, is someone heading for the reactor?” Larxene said.

“You… haven’t been keeping up with the news,” Zexion said.

“She’s almost as bad as Demyx,” Vexen muttered.

“I’ll fucking kill you, dude,” she said. “Don’t think I won’t blow the power in this sector to kick your ass.”

“Not if I don’t plunge you into an eternal winter first!” Vexen spat.

“Please don’t,” Zexion said. “ _ Please _ don’t.”

“What are you going to do to stop me, take a nap?” Larxene said.

Zexion leaned back into his book. “Eat shit,” he muttered.

~*~*~*~

“If anything,” Axel said. “We should send Shinra an invoice for clearing out all these fucking bugs.”

“Go ahead, then,” Cloud snapped. “Just don’t drag the rest of us into it.”

“The only invoice Shinra is getting is my bullets to their faces for what they’ve done to this planet,” Barret grumbled.

“Ooo, violence invoices, good idea,” Axel said. “Someone write that down.”

“Write it yourself,” Cloud said.

“Let’s just… do what we came to do, okay?” Tifa said. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”

~*~*~*~

“What’s the timer on this one?” Cloud asked.

“None,” Barret said. “This one has a remote.”

“Easier than running our asses off trying to escape an explosion, right?” Axel grinned, putting his hands behind his head.

Cloud glared at him.

“ _ I _ will be holding on to this,” Barret said. “Prevent any… hard feelings.”

“Anyways,” Tifa said. “Let’s get out of here.”

They ran to the ladder out, but it rose out of reach right as they would have gotten to it.

“Too precise,” Cloud muttered.

“You’re telling  _ me _ ,” Axel spat.

A nearby door opened, releasing a swarm of drones that flew around and in front of them. Cloud slashed at a few, but they just bounced away before returning to their formation.

“They’re not attacking?” Barret said. “What the--”

A hologram appeared in front of them, showing the laughing form of Heidegger. “You really thought you were sneaky, didn’t you? You thought you’d get away with this!”

“You haven’t stopped us yet,” Barret said.

“Oh, but here’s the thing,” Heidegger said. “What do you propose you’ll do when you get out of here? Where do you suppose you’ll go, with your faces plastered everywhere in Midgar as the terrorists who tried to explode the reactor?”

The hologram waved an arm, and a screen appeared, showing their faces in all too vivid detail.

“Damnit,” Axel hissed. “Bastard could have  _ warned _ us they’d upgraded to HD.”

Heidegger laughed again. “Oh, look at you! Trying to weaken our systems by making me think Shinra’s got a leak? What a scoundrel! What will the people think?”

“Stay cool,” Tifa said quietly. “If we’re on camera, we need to look good.”

“I think we’re past that,” Cloud replied.

Axel started to laugh. “You know?” He said. “You’re right. What was I thinking? No one’s  _ ever _ left Shinra, right? No one’s ever  _ defected, _ seen what you do behind closed doors and had enough.”

Heidegger stopped laughing. “And what would  _ you _ know about Shinra, terrorist?”

Axel smirked. “What  _ would _ I know?”

The two locked eyes for a long moment.

“Security!” Heidegger called. “Capture those terrorists! Bring them to me!”

The team found themselves surrounded by shocker troupers.

“Make my day, why don’t you?” Barret declared, taking aim.

“Careful, there,” Axel said. “Thousand gil says we’re still on air.”

“Would they really do that?” Tifa asked, kicking one of the troupers square in the jaw as he approached her. “I mean, showing them outnumbering us, it doesn’t make them look honorable, does it?”

“The people aren’t going to care,” Cloud said, slashing at another. “They already hate us for the bombs.”

“They aren’t going to care at the  _ start _ ,” Barret corrected, gun blaring. “Those cameras followin’ us? That’ll make a  _ connection _ .”

“ _ Damn _ I wish I was the psychology expert,” Axel muttered, firing off his own pistol.

“Barret’s not an expert,” Cloud said.

“I wasn’t talking about  _ him _ ,” Axel said.

“Fuck  _ both _ of you,” Barret said.

~*~*~*~

“It’s locked,” Cloud said. “Emergency shutdown procedure. We’ll have to override the security system.”

There was the sound of heavy footsteps at the end of the hall.

“How about  _ fuck _ that?” Axel said, pulling a lighter out of his pocket. “They’ve got us on blast anyways. How’s my audio, do you think? Are the people at home gonna learn some new sounds today?”

“What are you--” Tifa began, but Axel had already slammed his shoulder against the door.

“You’re going to break your damn bones!” Barret said, arms raised and one hand on his head in an almost comical posture of concern.

“Nah, see?” Axel said. “Watch this!”

Then he ignited, right as the approaching security guards reached them. The assembled people who were not presently on fire covered their faces to block the heat and smoke.

“Nevermind,” one of them said, turning and trying to walk away only to be stopped by another one of his squad mates.

Just as suddenly as it had appeared, the fire was gone. Axel’s face was pink, his shirt was gone, and he was sweating, but he was otherwise unharmed.

There was a hole in the large, metal door.

He chuckled, adjusting his jacket a little. “Wasn’t that  _ much _ more interesting?”

“Where did--” One of the security guards raised a questioning hand.

“My shirt wasn’t leather,” Axel said, gesturing for him to put his hand down. “People look at you weird when you’re in all leather, you know? They’re like ‘wow, that guy looks like he’s going to get into knife fights or commit some arson’, and they’re usually right, so you gotta throw in a lighter material to mix it up, look a little more generically edgy. By the way, anyone know how much sound we’ve got?”

The guards looked around at each other, clearly thrown by the situation.

“Axel,” Cloud said.

“Also, where’s the camera?” Axel looked around, running his hand through his hair. “What angles have I got? Do I look good?”

“Quit prattling and get moving!” Barret growled, already through the hole.

“H-Hey, wait!” The security guards said. “You can’t do that!”

“Looks like we  _ are _ in for a fight,” Axel sighed as Cloud drew his sword. “Honestly, I’m starting to see where Demyx is coming from with his whole ‘lazy’ thing.”

Cloud growled, but said nothing. Snapping at Axel on camera would probably be a  _ bad _ idea. He knew what the man was doing, even if he wasn’t sure Axel himself had figured it out.

  
It…  _ probably _ wouldn’t work, of course, but Cloud didn’t want to be the reason for that. Besides, if it did, it’d probably net them some benefits at only the cost of anyone ever taking Axel seriously. Small price to pay, really.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Axel: See, if it looks like Shinra is bullying a himbo, they will lose clout  
> Cloud, reluctantly: That's almost stupid enough to work  
> Axel, lighting his shirt on fire: Thanks


	10. Bioweapons RANKED By How Fun They Are To Go Drinking With

The second hologram was even more of a surprise than the first, and featured the president of Shinra himself.

“What a circus,” he said. “I  _ do _ have to wonder why you all went into terrorism instead of the entertainment industry.”

Barret aimed his gun arm at the hologram. “We ain’t here for your amusement.”

“Hm,” the president said. “And what of the rest of you? You, in the white shirt, or  _ you _ , the inglorious SOLDIER--”

“Ex SOLDIER,” Cloud corrected.

“-- or you,” the president continued, unperturbed, “Axel Sinclair?”

“Your name’s Sinclair?” Tifa asked.

Axel didn’t respond. He was staring up at the hologram, expression a battleground of different emotions, none of them good.

“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” The president leaned back. “What, you trusted them enough to be a weapon for them, but not enough to tell them your name?”

“I’m  _ no one's _ weapon,” Axel growled. “Not anymore.”

“You keep telling yourself that,” the president said. “For all of the, what, five minutes you and your ‘friends’ are going to be free?”

Before Cloud could demand an explanation, wind began to whip up from under the platform. He found himself back to back with Tifa, looking around, expecting to see those strange robes again.

Instead, a man landed on the catwalk between them and their exit with about seven spears as the president winked out.

“Well, shit,” Axel said.

“Hey, you weren’t supposed to announce your dinner,” the man said.

Axel facepalmed. “He’s been learning from  _ her _ ,” he groaned.

Xaldin grabbed two of his spears out of the air and charged.

~*~*~*~

“Damn, he’s really going at it there,” Larxene said, munching on popcorn. A small box on her belt beeped.

“Damn, they’re sending a lot of us out tonight,” Zexion said. “What reactor are you going to?”

She scoffed, checking the box. “None,” she said. “They’re sending me off with a Turk.”

“Really?” Zexion said. Vexen turned away from his own screen, unable to fully suppress his curiosity.

“What business does a Turk have dragging any of us around?”

“Fuck if I know,” Larxene said. “Honestly, you’d think Shinra’d be a little more careful, with Axel running around reminding us defecting is technically possible. Shit, Demyx and Marluxia are even unattended right now.”

“Oh, that,” Vexen said. “I think Xaldin is legitimately trying to kill Axel, so we’re probably expected to get a little reminder of why that’s a bad idea soon enough.”

Zexion opened his mouth to speak, but the box at  _ his _ waist beeped. He checked it. “Huh,” he said. “Turks for me, too. Plus, if I’m not mistaken, this is a new record for how many of us have been given assignments at once.”

“True,” Vexen said. “This place is  _ usually _ only this empty  _ illegitimately _ .”

“Axel’s friends are having more of an effect on operations than the big guns’ll let on,” Larxene said. “I should prolly head out if I don’t want to find out how effective a Turk is the fun way.”

“Ooo, right,” Zexion said. “Wouldn’t want to break the poor things.”

~*~*~*~

Cloud was reasonably sure Xaldin was almost ready to give out, and that was only a  _ little bit _ wishful thinking.

Axel had gone down remarkably quickly, all things considered, and was still face first on the catwalk, unmoving.

Everyone else was still up, but Cloud was tired and he was willing to guess that Barret and Tifa were, too.

A huge gust of wind knocked into them, slamming the three of them to the floor and sending the remote skittering across the walk.

“What’s this?” Xaldin asked, walking over to it and picking it up.

“You better get your mitts off--” Barret began.

Xaldin crushed it. In the distance, alarms began to blare.

“Heh,” Cloud said. “ _ That’s _ on  _ you _ .”

Xaldin quickly tossed the remnants of the remote over the edge, into the darkness below.

Cloud lunged, kicking himself up off the ground in the same motion. Behind him, he could hear Tifa and Barret beginning to move, too.

“Game over,” Xaldin growled, snatching one of his spears out of the air.

There was a blast of heat. Cloud glanced back, only to see the catwalk beginning to melt around Axel.

“What the hell are you doing?” Barret yelled.

“Get going,” Axel said, pushing himself upright. “SOLDIER boy and I can catch up once you two are safe.”

“But--” Tifa said.

“Go!” Cloud said. “Get to safety, we’ll be fine!”

Barret and Tifa were gone before the catwalk gave way, Axel kicking off of it to reach the other side just as the melted portion dropped away.

“You know something, Cloud?” he said. “You’re a horrible liar.”

Xaldin dropped Cloud into the dark, and Cloud cursed both of them in every way he knew how.

~*~*~*~

Zexion wrung his hands, looking around. “Are you sure this is--”

“Yes, this is  _ fine _ ,” the Turk in charge of the detachment said. “More importantly, these are our  _ orders _ , so you’re  _ going _ to do as you’re told, you hear?”

“Right.” Zexion did not stop looking around the sector seven slums. Most of the people there were distracted by the broadcast from the reactor, but some had evidently lost interest and the broadcast would likely end at any time. “It’s-- It’s three children with unexplained mako integration, and I’m a trained bioweapon. How hard could it be?”

“That’s the spirit.”

Zexion bit his lip as the group approached Seventh Heaven. He’d never been in a bar before. Some of the others had, when he was younger and security wasn’t quite so tight that they’d need to be sober to sneak back in, but those days had ended before he’d been old enough to drink.

“Barkeep!” The lead Turk beamed as the group entered the bar. “What’s the house special?”

“Uh.” The man behind the counter seemed to check something. “Beer.”

“Good enough.” The group clustered around the bar, and Zexion moved with them for lack of any better ideas. “Get us some beer, then.”

“Sure.” The man started taking glasses out from under the counter. “You fellows aren’t local. What brings you here?”

“Ah, work,” the leader said, waving a hand vaguely. “Thought we might as well wet our whistles while we’re here, you know? My buddy here--” he clapped Zexion on the shoulder, “-- is a bit of a connoisseur, as these things go, so…”

Zexion tried not to look too obviously like the man next to him was lying. He didn’t think it was going very well.

“... Right,” the barkeeper said. “Hope it lives up to your standards, dude.”

“Yeah,” Zexion said.

The beer was passed out, and Zexion looked at his glass dubiously. The contents  _ looked _ liquid enough. He took a deep breath, and sipped.

“And the verdict is?” One of the Turks asked, glass empty.

“I can really taste the, uh,” Zexion waved vaguely, “alcohol.”

“This is your first time drinking, isn’t it,” a woman at the other end of the bar said.

About then, a little girl ran out of the back room of the bar. “Biggs!” She said. “When are Daddy and the others getting back?”

“Dunno,” the barkeeper said. “They didn’t say. How are you kids holding up?”

The girl beamed. “Xion found the candy!”

Zexion's glass shattered against the floor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cloud: Damnit, Axel *did* sell us out, didn't he?  
> Meanwhile...  
> Xaldin: 🔫(=m=;)  
> Axel: (;=m=)🔥


	11. Identifying YOUR Best Girl In A World Full Of Very Good Girls

Cloud dreamed again.

He was talking to someone in a blank, white space. Someone telling him to keep moving forward. Was it… himself? Almost, but…

Then the dream shifted, and Sephiroth was there. The space darkened, seemingly contracting until the nothingness was close and cloying and he was choking and--

He woke up.

“Oh!” A young woman clapped her hands. “You  _ are _ alive! I thought so!”

“Where am I?” He muttered.

“A church,” she said. “I’m the only person left who uses it, though. A lot of the stuff down here is abandoned.”

Cloud sat up, rubbing his head, and looked around. Her description seemed pretty accurate. He was sitting in a patch of flowers. Nearby were some beams of wood that, according to the dust lines on the floor, had probably been dragged from the flowers to their present location.

He looked up, and saw the hole in the roof directly above him.

“You’re lucky you landed there,” she continued, gesturing at the flowers. “I don’t know how you survived that fall like you did, but the soft landing probably didn’t hurt.”

“I’m sturdy,” he said. Then he stood, feeling every part of his body wake up with him and start to complain. “And… I probably hit a few things on the way down to slow my fall.”

She giggled. “Here, I’ve got some potions,” she said. “Never hurts, right?”

“Right,” Cloud said, taking the proffered bottle and downing it. He felt a little better.

“I’m Aerith, by the way,” she continued. “What’s your name?”

“Cloud,” he said. He looked at her carefully for a few moments. “Are you… the flower seller from--”

“From the night the  _ first _ reactor blew, yeah.” She rubbed the back of her head. “And you’re one of the people who blew it up.”

“Why are you helping me?”

“I…” Aerith rocked back and forth on her heels. “I  _ don’t _ agree with the whole ‘explosion’ thing,” she said, “but I think you’re right about the mako. About Shinra.”

“I’m just a mercenary,” Cloud said defensively.

“Well, now, I think you’re going to have a hard time getting jobs with people who  _ aren’t _ exploding mako reactors in the future, so you might as well commit,” Aerith said. “ _ I _ don’t make enough to hire a merc for much of anything.”

“I’m surprised flower selling is as lucrative a business as you seem to be getting it to be,” Cloud said.

She laughed.

~*~*~*~

“You alright there, buddy?” One of the guys from the bar asked.

“Uh,” Zexion said. “Yeah! Sorry, I just-- hand condition. Mako exposure. Can’t always hold stuff. Yeah.”

“You are a horrible liar,” the woman at the other end of the bar said. “You know that, right?”

“This Xion character,” the lead Turk said. “Someone want to explain her a little to the rest of us?”

“She’s the ward of a friend of ours,” the barkeeper said. “Sweet kid.”

“Mhm.” The lead Turk crossed his arms, and turned to Zexion. “And how do  _ you _ know her?”

“People can have the same names,” Zexion said. “Probably someone else.”

“Aw, come on!” The Turks piled around him, leaning on his shoulders. “You can tell us! It’s fine!”

Zexion shifted uncomfortably, but the Turks were not dislodged.

“Give the guy some space, will you?” The barkeeper came out from behind the counter.

“N-No, sir, it’s fine,” Zexion said. “I-- I just--”

“It’s a simple question.” The smell of the alcohol was overwhelming. These people weren’t even that drunk, were they? “What’s the deal with  _ your _ Xion?”

“I’m not supposed to talk about--”

“You can trust us! It’s  _ fine _ .”

The barkeeper started trying to pry the Turks out of their cluster.

“Ok,” Zexion said. “But if anyone finds out I told you, I’m in big trouble, okay?”

The Turks nodded, several of them miming zipping their lips.

“My… unit,” Zexion said. “There were fourteen of us, at one point. Two of us disappeared following the Sector 2 fire. One of the missing was named Xion.”

“The Sector 2--  _ You  _ were in the military then?” The woman at the edge of the bar looked horrified. “How old  _ are _ you?”

“That’s not important,” Zexion muttered.

“Can’t be the same Xion, then,” one of the Turks muttered. “Woulda been  _ way _ too young.”

“Right,” Zexion said quietly. “Too young.”

~*~*~*~

“We left them behind,” Tifa said. “I don’t think I can live with myself after this, I--”

“You did what you had to do to survive,” Barret said. “So did I. I don’t like it either, but sometimes that’s how it is. Besides, those two are tough. They’ll be back.”

“I hope you’re right,” Tifa said.

“Let’s head back to the bar,” Barret suggested. “That’s where they’ll be looking for us.”

Tifa nodded, slowly, and the two of them started walking.

They were in the tunnels again when they heard footsteps behind them. They turned, tensing, but relaxed as Axel approached.

“Hey,” he said. “Was hoping to catch up with--”

“Where’s Cloud?” Tifa said.

Axel froze. “Huh? Uh…” He bit his lip. “We got seperated. I’m sure he’s fine, though. He’s sturdy. We’ll probably get back to the bar and see him covered in children, trying to look emo. You know how he is.”

Tifa sighed. “I hope you’re right,” she said. “I… I don’t want to think about the idea that he’s dead because I left him behind.”

“Tifa, listen to me,” Axel said. “Even if he was dead, it wouldn’t be your fault, and he’s  _ definitely _ not dead because you  _ know _ that guy would never let himself die in anything short of an apocalyptic event.”

She managed a small laugh. “I guess you’re right.”

“‘Course I am,” Axel said. “Let’s get back, okay? I could go for some food.”

“To dinner!” Barret declared.

“To dinner!” Tifa and Axel cheered.

~*~*~*~

The Turks and Zexion wandered around town for a while after the bar, but they didn’t have much luck on their mission for most of it.

Eventually, though, one of the Turks spotted the barkeeper walking some kids somewhere.

There were five children, although two of them were obviously not like the others and seemed to be tagging along rather than being an intended part of the procession.

Briefly, Zexion’s thoughts flashed to a small, black haired little girl in a lab he’d wished she’d had no business being in.

“Those kids,” the Turk that had pointed them out said. “Their eyes are pretty blue, huh?”

“Possibly…” the lead Turk put a hand on his chin thoughtfully, “ _ mako _ blue?”

“Humans can have blue eyes naturally,” Zexion began. “I mean,  _ my _ eyes barely--”

“Not  _ that _ blue.” As one, the Turks began to move. “Besides, if they’re the wrong kids, we can just put’em back.”

“I just don’t think--” Zexion tried.

“Good, because  _ thinking _ isn’t your job.” The lead Turk shoved him a little. “ _ Your _ job is to wreck what we tell you to.”

“My job,” Zexion said. “Is to act in the interests of the Shinra Electric Power Company.”

“And Shinra wants those kids, so can it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Zexion: this job sucks. i wish they paid me


	12. One HIGHLY Effective Sleep Aid Area Man WON'T Be Using Again

“Well, aren’t you two just  _ so _ sweet together?”

Cloud and Aerith turned towards the voice, stepping backwards. The man it belonged to looked, to Cloud,  _ suspiciously _ like Axel, and was clapping slowly. Sarcastically.

“Reno,” Aerith breathed.

“Aerith,” Reno said. “Gotta say, I knew you didn’t like  _ us _ very much, but I didn’t expect you to start hanging out with terrorists.”

“Uh,” Aerith said. Then she gestured at Cloud. “He didn’t have any choice! He’s poor!”

“I am the sole caretaker of three children,” Cloud said, deadpan.

“I know,” Reno said. “Ventus, Roxas, and Namine, right?”

A chill ran up Cloud’s spine.

“Aerith, I think you’ll  _ adore _ Namine,” Reno said. “You two have so much in common!”

“Is it the girl thing?” Aerith sighed.

“Ehh…” Reno waved a hand vaguely.

“What have you done to my cousins?” Cloud growled.

“Oh! Nothing!” Reno said brightly. “Some of my  _ fellows, _ though…”

Aerith put her hand in front of Cloud. “What do you  _ want, _ Reno?”

“Same as ever,” Reno said. “Oh! But this time I brought a new friend for you.” He stepped away from the door, and a blonde woman walked in, looking bored. “This is Larxene! Isn’t she a peach?”

“Did you seriously bring  _ me _ along to  _ ask nicely _ ?” Larxene said. “You know what I am, don’t you?”

Aerith pulled out a staff, entering a combat stance. “That’s only how this starts.”

“Oh, good.” Larxene dropped into a stance of her own, drawing knives. “I’ll get to do something.”

“Ooo, knives,” Reno said. “ _ Not _ in the briefing, uh. You can’t break her, you know that, right?”

Larxene scoffed. “What about her friend?”

“Oh, he’s fair game,” Reno said. “You can  _ kill _ him, if you want.”

Lightning crackled along Larxene’s body. “Score,” she said.

“No lightning on her, then,” Cloud muttered.

“Or him,” Aerith said quietly. “He’s built up a tolerance, I think.”

“Lovely,” Cloud said.

Shinra security guards streamed into the room, and they launched into combat.

It was rough, although it was made a  _ little _ easier by the fact that Larxene was electrocuting  _ everyone _ , not just her opponents, and by the fact that Aerith could heal herself and Cloud at the same time.

Still, Cloud was getting a little bit tired of electricity as a concept.

When all the security guards were down, and Reno was starting to look tired, Cloud found himself back right next to Aerith.

“Oh, I am going to be in  _ so much _ trouble when my mom finds out about this,” Aerith said, shooting an ice spell at Larxene.

“Really?” Cloud said, deflecting a knife. “ _ That’s _ your concern?”

“You have not met my mother.”

“Yeah, think of Elmyra,” Reno panted. “She wouldn’t want to hear you’ve been fighting Turks again, would she?”

Aerith was about to respond, when the strange cloaks erupted from the ground, not breaking anything but still surprising everyone.

“What’s that wind?” Larxene demanded.

Cloud probably wouldn’t have answered her even if he and Aerith hadn’t been swept off their feet and flung through a nearby door, which then proceeded to slam shut.

After a few moments, they heard pounding on the wood. “Hey!” Reno demanded. “Open up!”

“Let’s get out of here,” Aerith said.

“That’s sounding pretty good to me,” Cloud said.

~*~*~*~

Xion sniffed, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she backed away from the mess that  _ had _ been a Turk.

Now, of course, it was approximately six to eight corpses glitched into each other like a bad simulation, but there wasn’t really much to do about that.

“What the fuck?” Biggs muttered.

“Alright, all of you step back.” A silver haired man pushed himself out of the mob of Turks. “Clearly, none of you have ever seen a child in your life, so  _ I _ will be handling this from here.”

“Your job has nothing to do with children,” one of the Turks said.

“Yeah?” The man said. “Well, I’m also not a moron, so shut up.”

“Yeah,  _ why _ did your buddies here just try to kidnap a child?” Biggs said.

“Because they are dumb,” the man said sagely. He held out a hand. “Zexion.”

“Yeah, I don’t think introductions are really…  _ important _ ? Right now?” Biggs said.

“I’m a friend of Axel,” Zexion said. “Well…  _ almost _ a relative, I guess.”

“Where is he?” Xion demanded. “He was supposed to be back from work, wasn’t he?”

“Uh…” Zexion said. “I’m not  _ coworkers _ with him anymore, but--”

“Look,” Biggs said. “I don’t care who you are. You and Axel could be  _ married _ for all I care, I need to get these kids home and figure out if whatever happened to that guy was contagious.”

“Oh,” Zexion said. “Don’t worry about that part.” He reached forward, poking Biggs in the forehead, and the man collapsed, sleeping.

The children yelped.

“Xion,” Zexion sighed. “Did… did Axel tell you about your… abilities?”

Xion shook her head, then glanced at the ex-Turk.

“Oh, boy,” Zexion said. “Whatever he’s been doing to suppress them won’t work forever. You’ll have to learn control eventually.”

Xion sniffled again. “B-But-- I don’t-- I don’t understand--”

Zexion looked at her, and she got the feeling his heart was breaking. He leaned down to Biggs and whispered something, before turning back to her. “I…” he said. “I can take you somewhere you can learn, if you’d like me to.”

Xion considered that. Then, she looked at the remains on the ground and nodded.

“Xion--” Marlene began, but Zexion had already reached out and touched Xion’s forehead, sending her drifting into sleep.

~*~*~*~

“Why are these things  _ helping _ us all of the sudden?” Cloud asked, helping Aerith across a plank as the cloaks swirled around them.

“Does it look like I know?” Aerith pointed out. “I’m trying not to question it too hard, in case that makes them stop.”

Cloud shrugged as she hopped off the plank next to him. “What  _ do _ you know about them?”

“I know I saw my first one the day I turned 18, and I know they’ve been getting  _ really _ active lately.” She shivered. “They’ve thrown me around before, but recently…”

“Helpful,” Cloud said.

“Oh, the  _ most _ ,” she agreed.

The door downstairs burst, then, revealing somehow even more security guards, as well as Reno and Larxene.

“Shit!” Aerith said.

“Come on, let’s go,” Cloud said.

“Get back here!” Reno demanded.

Cloud and Aerith ran.

~*~*~*~

“What do we do, do we go after them?” One of the guards asked.

Reno sighed. “No,” he said. “We know where she’ll go  _ eventually _ , but we don’t know where she’ll go before then. Rude can handle it.”

“Ugh,  _ seriously _ ?” Larxene groaned. “You dragged me all the way out here for  _ this _ ?”

“I  asked them to send a woman with me,” Reno said. “Figured she’d respond better to someone she had a little more in common with, you know? One sassy lady to another.”

Larxene crossed her arms. “ _ Damn, _ I wish I was allowed to kill you right now.”

  
“Hey, don’t blame me that it’s  _ your _ time that got wasted,” Reno said. “Mine was too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Biggs: you two could be MARRIED for all I care  
> Zexion: hold on I have to google some things  
> Biggs:  
> Zexion:  
> Turks:  
> Zexion: yeah that's pretty funny


	13. 8 Conversation Starters To Use When Speaking To A Wanted Criminal

Barret, Tifa, and Axel walked into the bar to see Wedge and Jessie playing cards.

“Where’s Biggs?” Tifa asked.

“He went to walk Cloud’s cousins back to their apartment,” Jessie said. “Xion and Marlene wanted to walk with them. He should be back with our girls any time now. The  _ real _ question is ‘Axel, where’s your shirt?’”

Wedge glanced up at the clock. “Actually,” he said, voice taking on a worried tinge. “They should have been back a little while ago.”

The group looked around at each other.

“I’m gonna go find him,” Axel said.

“Okay, but seriously, what happened to your shirt?” Jessie asked. “Did you have to sacrifice it to tie the bomb in place, because I’m  _ pretty _ sure I attached the magnets.”

“He lit on  _ fire _ ,” Tifa said.

“What?!” Wedge stood, and Jessie also tried to stand.

“I’m fine,” Axel assured them. “Be right back!”

He ducked out the door.

“He seriously lit on fire,” Barret said. “Melted right through a door, too.”

“I always figured that lighter had a little too much power behind it,” Wedge said. “But  _ seriously _ ? How is he alive right now??”

“Wedge, do you remember what Cloud said when we went topside?” Jessie said.

“Which thing?” Wedge asked.

“Axel jumped off the bike on the way up,” Jessie said. “Cloud said he’d ‘have to have the mako integration of a bioweapon’ to have survived.”

“What would a bioweapon be doing raising a child in the slums?” Barret asked.

Tifa sat down at the bar, looking contemplative.

The door opened again, and Axel walked back in, carrying an unconscious Biggs.

“Fuck,” Barret said.

Axel placed Biggs on one of the tables and started to shake him.

“Shit, Axel,” Biggs muttered in his sleep. “I’m sorry.”

“Is he--” Wedge began, but Axel held up a hand.

“Whatever you did,” Biggs continued. “It isn’t working anymore. I had to. I’m sorry.”

“Zexion,” Axel sighed.

“We should get Cloud,” Tifa said. She turned to Jessie. “He went home, right?”

“He… hasn’t been by,” Jessie said. “We thought he’d just gone home instead of coming in with you.”

“I’ll check his apartment,” Tifa said. “He… I hate to say it, but he probably won’t be there.”

“Too many Turks around,” Wedge sighed.

Biggs groaned, starting to sit up and putting a hand to his head. “Someone get the number of that truck?”

“Shinra,” Axel said. “Project XIII unit number VI. His name is--”

“Zexion,” Biggs said. “He introduced himself. Said he was your friend.”

Axel sighed. “At one point, yeah.”

“Axel,” Jessie said. “Whatever this Project XIII stuff is, I think you’d better tell us what you know.”

“I… was hoping you wouldn’t ask,” Axel said. “Give me a minute, okay? I’m… I was never expecting to talk about this. I’m not quite ready.”

~*~*~*~

“First!” Aerith said as the two emerged onto the roof of the church. “We have to go to my house. I’ve been out all night, and I have to check in with my mom.”

“When do you sleep?” Cloud asked.

“Saturdays,” Aerith said, and started walking across the rooftop rubble.

Cloud shook his head and followed her.

“So, uh,” she said. “Do you want to talk about your cousins, or…?”

“No,” Cloud said.

“Mm,” she said, folding her arms behind her back. “Worried, then. Fair enough. If it helps, I don’t think Reno’s been allowed near kids since he  _ was _ one.”

“It doesn’t,” Cloud said.

“Well, I tried,” Aerith said. “You’re just gonna have to feel it.”

“Guess so,” Cloud said. “What direction are we heading when we get off the roofs? Because there are helicopters up ahead.”

“Well,” Aerith said brightly. “Isn’t that just charming? Once we get to the station, I suppose we’ll have to take the long way home.”

“Great…” Cloud sighed.

“Oh, and we should probably find you a disguise or something,” she continued. “So the townsfolk don’t riot and try to stab you a little over the reactor.”

“You’re a real ray of sunshine, you know that?”

“I get that a lot.” Aerith grinned at him.

“I’m sure.” Cloud climbed over the peak of a roof and slid down the other side, dropping off the edge to the ground. He rolled when he hit it, but made sure to end in a suitably impressive position.

“You really  _ do _ have little cousins,” Aerith laughed.

“You had doubts?”

“No, but it’s incredibly obvious watching you try so hard to look cool.”

“Why am I going to your mother’s house with you?” Cloud asked.

Aerith slid down, landing in the dirt and rolling past him. “Because you’re a wanted criminal and I fought Shinra with you,” she said, and popped upright. “Plus, when was the last time you ate?”

Cloud really wished he could argue with that.

Aerith took a few detours, digging through empty houses and piles of junk until she found a ratty, smelly cloak.

“Here,” she said. “Put this on.”

Cloud took it, but held it skeptically.

“Come on, it fits you perfectly!” She started walking again. “Or you could go without it, if you’re a  _ baby _ .”

“Didn’t you say going without this would get me stabbed?” Cloud asked, before gritting his teeth and pulling the cloak on. Size-wise, it  _ was _ a perfect fit.

“Mm, I did, didn’t I?” She said.

They walked a bit farther, reaching the station.

“Hot spot,” Cloud commented.

“Yeah, you can see the reactor from here.” She pointed, and he looked up. The thing was on fire.

“I’m… pretty sure that’s more fire than was supposed to be involved,” Cloud said, thinking back to Axel’s ignition. Nothing else had caught without them noticing, right? Was that from the bomb?

“Well, that’s the amount of fire that’s there,” Aerith said. “Now hush up, will you?”

“Oh, Aerith!” One of the women from nearby ran up to her. “You’re not normally here at this time. Did something happen at the church? It didn’t get hit by any debris, did it?”

“No, the church is fine,” Aerith said. “Might be seeing a few more mushrooms in the future, but it’s fine. I really should be getting home.”

“Of course,” the woman said. “Your mother will be so worried. Give her my love!”

“I will,” Aerith promised.

A helicopter landed nearby, and several people disembarked, including someone Cloud could easily recognize as another Turk.

“Uh, Aerith?” He pointed, as unobtrusively as he could.

“Oh, I see.” Aerith seemed to do some mental calculations, watching the helicopter for a few precious seconds. “I think we should take the long way. Sometimes, useful things show up there.”

“Works for me,” Cloud said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Barret: why would a bioweapon be raising a child in the slums  
> Axel: well where else was i gonna do it??


	14. Ways NOT To Introduce Yourself To Your Childs New Friend

Tifa opened the doors back into Seventh Heaven, head low.

“Axel,” she said. “Where did you leave Cloud?”

“Sector--”

“Specifically, Axel,” Tifa said. “Where  _ specifically _ did you leave Cloud?”

“We…” Axel rubbed the back of his head. “We were… still in the…”

“You left Cloud in the reactor?!” Tifa exploded. “Axel, how could you?”

“I barely got out of there myself,” Axel said. “Besides, he’s not  _ fragile _ . It was reasonable to assume he’d be able to get back here.”

“What. Happened.” Tifa stepped forward, grabbing the lapel of Axel’s jacket.

“Tifa--” Barret began.

“Shut up!” Tifa snapped. “This isn’t about you!”

“Tifa, I understand you’re upset--” Axel said.

“Oh,  _ do _ you?”

“-- but you shouldn’t yell at Barret. You know that. He’s going through crap right now, too.”

Tifa froze. “What?”

“Marlene’s gone,” Biggs said. “She was with us when-- Well, when--”

“Marlene, Xion, and Cloud’s cousins,” Axel said. “Zexion and the Turks took them.”

Tifa slumped. “So, that’s our next mission, right? Getting the kids back?”

“Our  _ next _ mission is  _ finding out _ where the kids  _ are _ ,” Wedge said. “We don’t know what Shinra does with its prisoners. We  _ need _ more information.”

“Unless Axel has it,” Biggs said.

“I might know where  _ Xion _ is,” Axel said. “The others… no idea.”

~*~*~*~

“Bad night all around?” Vexen asked as the other members of the Project slunk back into their quarters.

“I got bucked off a  _ robot _ ,” Demyx groaned.

“Axel bombed Reactor 5,” Xaldin grumbled.

“I got sent  _ all the way down to the slums _ and I didn’t even get to cause  _ one _ major disaster event!” Larxene whined.

The others complained, too, mostly about being bored.

“And the top two aren’t here again?” Marluxia asked. “And Lexaeus, this time. Strange.”

Vexen shrugged.

Larxene laughed mirthlessly. “Lucky them.”

“Lucky Zexion, too, looks like,” Xaldin said. “Wonder what he’s up to.”

“Working,” Vexen said. “Though, he  _ has _ been out a while. Maybe he’s visiting XIII on his way back.”

“I would have seen him,” Luxord said.

The door opened again, revealing Zexion carrying what was very obviously a child.

“Where did you get that?” Vexen asked.

“Number XIV,” he said. “I found her while I was out, and it was either drag her back or let the Turks treat her as a threat.”

“Hm.” As one, the room wrinkled their noses.

“I know,” Zexion said.

“It’s… I’m sorry you had to make that choice,” Luxord said.

“Xigbar will probably want to use her as bait for Axel,” Saix said. “Do we think we can reach him before he charges in here with his new friends?”

“I know where he is,” Zexion said. “Or, at least, I know where he’s going back to. I think as few of us  _ should _ know as possible, but I  _ don’t _ think I should go back.”

“You’ll have to tell, if  _ they _ ask you,” Marluxia said. “By the way, Larxene, which slums did you go to?”

“The ones under the reactor that got blown up.”

“Shit,  _ I _ was hoping to get down there somehow. I want new flowers.”

~*~*~*~

Aerith led Cloud around a corner, and he stopped in his tracks.

In front of him was a charming little house absolutely  _ surrounded _ by flowers. He hadn’t realized anywhere like this could exist in Midgar.

“Come on,” Aerith said. “We’re  _ literally _ almost there.”

He shook himself, beginning to walk again. “This… must have been a nice place to grow up.”

“It’s the best!” Aerith agreed. “My mom’s the best! You’ll love her.”

“I’m sure,” Cloud said.

“You’re sarcastic  _ now _ ,” Aerith said. “But you’ll love her. You’ll see.”

She reached the door and opened it. “I’m home!” She declared.

“There you are.” A woman bustled into the room, as much as one can bustle without having any immediately visible tasks. “You know, Rude came by, and--”

There was a silence, as Cloud tried not to be looked at too hard.

“Mom, this is Cloud,” Aerith said. “He helped me out when Reno brought in extra force today. Cloud, this is my mother, Elmyra.”

“Pleasure,” Cloud said stiffly.

“Likewise,” Elmyra said. “I don’t mean to be unpleasant, but aren’t you one of the people who blew up the reactors?”

“He’s a mercenary,” Aerith said. “He’s poor, mom. He’s got three little cousins to feed.”

“And  _ where _ are those little cousins?” Elmyra asked.

“Sector 7,” Cloud said. “I should head back there soon.”

“You should also eat,” Aerith said. “Mom, can he stay for dinner? And breakfast, maybe, since it’ll be late to leave?”

“I’ll discuss that with him, alright dear?” Elmyra said. “Why don’t you check in town, if anyone wants to buy some flowers?”

“You’re getting rid of me,” Aerith hummed disappointedly, but she still walked out the door.

As soon as it closed, Elmyra threw up her hands. “ _ Just _ when I’m starting to think she might have a sense of self preservation!”

“What was I supposed to do?” Cloud asked. “Leave her to deal with some asshole running around with an armed bioweapon by herself?”

“I  _ know _ what that outfit means, SOLDIER,” Elmyra said.

“ _ Ex _ SOLDIER,” Cloud said.

“Even worse.” Elmyra walked to the nearest sink and began aggressively washing dishes. “First it was that--”

Cloud’s sudden headache cut off his hearing for the rest of her sentence. He winced, hand going to his head, and stumbled.

“Oh, can it,” she said as his hearing returned. “You lot are  _ magnets _ for danger.  _ He _ left and probably died years ago, and that was the best thing he ever did for her.”

“That’s a horrible thing to say about someone,” Cloud said.

“I know, but it’s true. SOLDIERs are risky to have around. You can stay for dinner, but you have to leave after,” Elmyra said. “And don’t let Aerith catch you going, she’ll try to follow you.”

“She’s a grown woman,” Cloud said. “She can make her own decisions.”

“She can,” Elmyra agreed. “But I am her mother, and I am telling you to leave her behind.”

“I’ll leave quietly,” Cloud said. “But if she notices anyways, I’m not going to try and fight her to make her come back here.”

Elmyra chuckled warmly. “She  _ is _ a handful, isn’t she? I suppose she’s had to be.”

“What do the Turks want with her, anyways?”

Elmyra’s voice turned ice cold. “Don’t ask that again,” she said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aerith: You'll love her!  
> Cloud: :|  
> Elmyra: :|


	15. Area Man Has Better Things To Do Than Get Ass Kicked

Cloud caught up with Aerith in the garden as she investigated a patch of flowers closely. She’d crouched down to see better.

“I don’t think your mom likes me very much,” he said.

“She’s protective of me,” Aerith agreed. “I guess I understand why, but it’s kind of annoying sometimes.”

“So, uh…” Cloud said. “Anything in the flowers?”

“I think so,” she said.

There was a pause as she waited, watching. Then, she reached into the bed and pulled out a snake. “Hi there!”

The snake, for its part, coiled around her wrist comfortably.

“Aerith--” Cloud said.

“These little guys are  _ great _ for pest control in the garden,” she said. “I’m glad you got to see.”

“Don’t those… bite?” Cloud knelt down next to her.

“Not people, generally,” Aerith said. “We’re too big, they don’t expect to get anything out of it. Besides, we’re warm.”

She held out the snake to him.

“No thanks,” he said. “SOLDIERs run cold.”

“I feel like you’re making that up,” she said, and put the snake back into the flowers. “There’s a bit of time before dinner, do you want to see if there’s anything to do around town?”

“Sure,” Cloud said. “Might be worth the time.”

~*~*~*~

“Once you’re back with your cousins, you should come by again sometime,” Aerith said as they walked back towards her house that evening. “Bring them. I’m sure the other kids would love to meet them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cloud said.

“Come on, don’t you want to come back sometime?”

“I think your mother would prefer if I didn’t.”

She laughed, but the sound abruptly cut off as they noticed a man on the road ahead of them.

He was most definitely a Turk, something Cloud was starting to get sick of.

“Hey, Aerith,” the man said. “See you’ve made a new friend.”

Cloud drew the cloak Aerith had found for him around himself defensively, hoping the man hadn’t recognized him.

“Rude,” Aerith said coolly. “What do you want?”

He sighed. “You and Reno got in another fight today. Plus--”

“Have you proposed to him yet?” Aerith asked.

“Wh-- That’s  _ not _ the topic of discussion right now.” The man adjusted his gloves. “You know what I’m here to do, and  _ I _ know you’re not going to play nice with  _ me, _ either. Shall we get this over with?”

She drew her staff. “Please. I’d rather not be  _ too _ late to dinner.”

~*~*~*~

The fight stopped with the sound of a phone ringing.

Cloud looked between Aerith and their opponent, the latter of whom withdrew the phone from his pocket.

There was the sound of speech from the other end, and a helicopter overhead.

“Right,” the man said, pocketing the phone again as a ladder dropped. He turned to Aerith. “Hate to cut this short.”

“See you next week!” Aerith said brightly.

“Wasn’t this guy just trying to kidnap you?” Cloud said.

“We all know he can’t,” Aerith said. “Really, it’s just a formality at this point. Him and Reno are practically local by now.”

“And people don’t… mind?” Cloud was beginning to reconsider his promise to Elmyra to leave Aerith behind. It was somehow tempting, to spirit her off somewhere Shinra couldn’t find her, but he brushed the idea aside as something she’d never agree to.

“It’s been those two specifically for years.” Aerith shrugged, putting her staff back on her back and resuming the walk to her mother’s house. “We got used to them.”

“That’s probably somewhat the point,” Cloud muttered, putting his sword on his back and following her.

“Yeah, probably,” Aerith said. “It’s better than if they were rotating their goons out, though. At least, I think so.”

~*~*~*~

Dinner was nice, Cloud decided. He figured he probably  _ would _ have liked Elmyra, if she’d liked him at all. No doubt, she’d have liked his cousins, at least.

Later, he lay in the bed in the guest room and stared at the ceiling, and thought of his own mother.

He figured Elmyra would have gotten along with  _ her, _ too. They were pretty similar.

He sighed, looking out the window. It was late enough. He would have liked to get some proper sleep (when had been the last time he’d done  _ that? _ He’d passed out after being dropped from the reactor) but he’d promised he’d leave. He snagged the cloak off the head of the bed as he stood.

The hallway was covered in stuff he was  _ sure _ hadn’t been there when he’d gone to bed. He blinked at it, trying to think of any reason for it to be in such a state. Carefully, he inched his way through the hall.

Elmyra was downstairs, still awake.

“Heading out?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Good.” She took a sip from the mug in front of her. “I’d hate to chase you away like this, but you’re a risk we can’t afford to take.”

“I…” Cloud looked around the room. “I understand. I wish you and Aerith the best.”

“I’ll let her know,” Elmyra said.

Cloud left.

He almost wished he could take the time to sit in the garden, under the sky that was half visible this far out from the center of the city.

He walked through the quiet collection of shops and houses outside of it. This small slice of the city was almost a town in its own right; half of everything around him reminded him of Nibelheim in some small way.

He reached the edge of town, looking for some indicator he was heading the right direction, and was greeted by a tunnel. A tunnel, and…

“What are you doing here?”

“I heard you talking to my mom when you left,” Aerith said. “Were you really gonna leave without saying goodbye, after all we did today?”

Cloud coughed. “I told you,” he said. “Your mom doesn’t like me. She’s the one who put me up to this.”

“Well,” Aerith said. “How did she expect you to get to Sector 7 from here without a guide?”

“I, uh…” Cloud said. “Wait a second, how did you get here before me?”

“I climbed out my window, and you walk slow,” Aerith said. “Besides, it’s Tuesday. I’ve got a lot of energy left in me.”

“You’re  _ not _ seriously trying to sell that joke  _ now _ .”

“It’s not a joke,” Aerith said. “I sleep on Saturdays.”

“How are you alive?”

“I sleep the whole day.”

“That’s not enough.”

“Speak for yourself.” Aerith grinned. “Do you want a guide, or not?”

Cloud considered his current state of affairs. “Fine, but after this you’re going home and getting some sleep.”

“It’s  _ Tuesday _ .”

“You know, most of us sleep  _ every _ night.”

“You’ve been up two nights now, too, you know.”

“And I’m going to sleep for a week after this.” Cloud started through the tunnel. “Your point?”

“You’re weird.”

“Look who’s talking.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cloud: I fear no man, but that /thing/...  
> Common garden snake: :3  
> Cloud: It scares me  
> Aerith, putting the snake back in the grass: damn why didnt you just say so
> 
> Me, pointing at Rude and Reno: Husbands  
> Nomura: Rude actually has a crush on Tifa--  
> Me, pointing more insistently: In Love
> 
> You know for a fic that specifically about putting Kingdom Hearts characters in Final Fantasy VII there aren't that many Kingdom Hearts characters in this section. There'll be one next chapter tho I promise ✌


	16. 5 Ways For Your Boyfriend To Disappoint Your Mom

“And that’s one of the arms that got left behind down here.” Aerith pointed at the giant machine before sliding down the ladder into the pit it was set in.

“Great,” Cloud said. “Let’s hope it doesn’t try to smack us into oblivion while we pass by it.”

“Passing’s going to be more difficult than normal,” Aerith said. She paused and snorted, as though she had a private joke in that moment, before continuing. “Looks like someone rolled up the ladder. One of us could put it down if we could get up there, but…”

“But your Tuesday energy doesn’t come with a super jump.” Cloud raised an eyebrow.

“No, that’s Thursdays,” Aerith said.

They looked at each other for a long moment.

“That was a joke,” Aerith said. “You can laugh.”

“I can never tell with you.”

“Do  _ you _ even  _ make _ jokes?”

“I make  _ plenty _ of jokes.” Cloud crossed his arms.

“Oh, yeah?” Aerith asked. “Name one.”

“We’re getting off topic,” Cloud said. “We need to get past this gap.”

Aerith giggled. “Hey, maybe that arm could help.”

“Another joke?”

“No, I’m serious.” Aerith walked over to a console set somewhat near the base of the arm and began to mess with the levers, moving the arm. “We can use this.”

“Aerith, you’re going to crush us,” Cloud said. “We can climb on some boxes and I can give you a boost, please, just--”

The hand hit the ground nearby them.

“Aerith--”

“Climb on,” Aerith said.

He sighed, and did so. “I just feel like there’s a better option than this,” he said.

Aerith maneuvered the arm onto the far side of the gap, and Cloud climbed off and dropped the ladder.

“Well,” she said, climbing up it. “Let’s keep moving, alright? We want to get you back soon.”

~*~*~*~

“A campfire?” Cloud stopped in his tracks.

“We should keep moving,” Aerith said. “Whoever else is out here, I’d rather be gone before they get back to their camp.”

“The embers are still warm,” Cloud said, kneeling down next to the half-charred pile of wood. Sand had been dumped over it, smothering the fire itself, but he could still feel the heat.

“Shit,” Aerith said. “Cloud, we have to go  _ now _ .”

“You take on Turks on what sounds like a weekly basis,” Cloud said.

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I want to be in the outdoors equivalent of someone else’s house,” Aerith said.

“She’s right, it’s awfully rude.”

The two of them turned, stepping away from the man standing there. He was tall, and broad, and had red-brown hair and mako blue eyes.

He raised his hands. “I don’t mean any harm. I’ve no doubt we’re avoiding the same people, if you’re taking  _ this _ route anywhere.”

Cloud looked at Aerith. Aerith looked at the man in front of them.

Finally, she spoke. “Who are you?”

“Lexaeus,” he said. “I apologize if raising the ladders was an inconvenience, but I didn’t want it to look like anyone could have come this way.”

“Then you really should have raised the ones for the other direction,” Aerith said.

Lexaeus considered that.

“Aerith, why are you giving this man advice?” Cloud asked.

“Oh,  _ you’re _ Aerith?” Lexaeus said. “Yeah, we’re both avoiding Shinra. I know enough to know neither of us wants to go back.”

Cloud figured it would have been nice if anyone, ever, explained what they were saying to him, at any point, but Aerith was already waving and dragging him further along through the tunnel.

~*~*~*~

They emerged next to a playground at the boundary between Sectors 6 and 7.

“Let’s sit down for a moment, okay?” Aerith said, planting herself on one of the swings. “We’ve been walking a while.”

Cloud sat on the other swing, and they were quiet for a while, except for the creaking chains of the play equipment.

Too quiet, compared to how the rest of the day had gone.

“You’re reminiscing, aren’t you,” he said.

“I came here with my first boyfriend,” Aerith said. “When we were sixteen.”

“Mm,” Cloud said, remembering his conversation with Elmyra.

“He was a SOLDIER, too,” Aerith said. “Do you think you ever met him?”

“I didn’t socialize much.” Cloud leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees and looking at nothing.

“Oh,” Aerith said, a little disappointed. “I was… I was hoping you might know if he was still alive. Or, at least, how he died.”

“One day, he never came back to you,” Cloud said. “You want to know why.”

“Yeah.”

“I wish I could help.”

There was another silence.

Aerith looked up, towards the gate into Sector 7, as it began to open. Out came a coach, pulled by a chocobo.

“Chocobo Sam?” Aerith muttered. “What was his lot doing in Sector 7?”

Cloud caught a glimpse of the figure in the coach, and stood, starting to run after it. “Tifa!”

She looked up, eyes widening as she saw him. “Cloud! You’re alive!”

“Yeah, no thanks to Axel. What’s going on?”

Tifa paused, expression growing uneasy. “Cloud, I’m sorry,” she said. “We didn’t-- There wasn’t--”

“I’m not mad about you leaving me behind,” Cloud said.

“That’s not it,” Tifa said. “I just-- I can’t talk right now. Everyone at the bar can explain. Cloud, I’m  _ sorry _ .”

“Tifa--” Cloud said.

“Cloud, you have to go,” Tifa said. “I’ll be fine, just-- please.”

“What are you talking about?” Cloud asked.

“I  _ have _ to do this,” Tifa said. “It’s the only-- Cloud, I’m  _ so _ sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” Cloud said. “What’s going on?”

She shook her head. “You have to go.”

He stopped, and watched the coach drive away, feeling more helpless than he had in a long time.

Aerith stepped up next to him. “So,” she said. “Where to?”

“Huh?”

“Sector 7?” She glanced back towards the gate. “Or Wall Market?”

“What makes you so sure she’s heading to Wall Market?” Cloud asked.

“Chocobo Sam picks girls for Don Corneo,” Aerith said, and the bottom dropped out of Cloud’s stomach.

“My cousins are with people who can take care of them,” he said. “And Sector 7… it’s pretty safe, considering. Tifa… she’s strong, but she’s all alone.”

“Mm,” Aerith said. “If we’re going after her first, then… I’ve got a plan.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cloud: wait i thought all of you were like in shinras house or something  
> Lexaeus: I Am Leaving  
> Cloud: oh yeah?  
> Lexaeus: oh yeah
> 
> Aerith: I have a plan  
> Cloud: What do you want me to do, dress in drag and do the hula?  
> Aerith: Well,


	17. The Worst Pancake Recipe On The Internet

“I can’t endorse you,” Madam M said. “You’re  _ covered _ in mud.”

“It’s good for me,” Aerith said.

“The mud can be washed off,” Cloud said quickly. “It’s negotiable.”

Madam M’s eyes narrowed. “ _ Why _ exactly do you two want to get her into Corneo’s mansion again?”

“Because… please,” Aerith said.

Madam M sighed. “Why am I even considering-- You know what? I’ll make you a deal.”

Cloud and Aerith perked up in unison.

“There’s a tournament,” she said. “Grand prize is a million gil, not counting betting outcomes. Win it, and Aerith gets herself a shower, a new dress,  _ and _ an endorsement on my account.”

“I take it we’re not seeing any of that prize money,” Cloud said.

“Not a gil.” Madam M smiled. “ _ I’m _ getting you into the tournament, after all.”

“That’s--” Aerith began, but Cloud stuck out an arm to stop her.

“I’ll do it,” he said.

Madam M’s smile turned bone chilling.

~*~*~*~

“You didn’t have to do this with me, I’d’ve been fine without you.” Cloud leaned against the table in their preparation room.

“I’ve come this far with you,” Aerith said. “I’m invested at this point.”

“You’re already helping enough--”

She shushed him. “You don’t have to do everything by yourself, and your life wouldn’t be better if you did,” she said. “I’m not going away at  _ least _ until you’ve learned that.”

The intercom chimed, telling them to get ready for their first match.

~*~*~*~

It was the semifinals, where things started to get interesting.

They walked into the arena, side by side, and Cloud saw Aerith’s expression stiffen as they moved closer to the center of the ring, purposefully not reacting to the heckling.

The commentators talked a bit more, and then the door opposite them opened up.

“Lexaeus?” Aerith cocked her head. “I thought you were--”

“Well, shit,” Lexaeus said. “You two are the battle couple that’s got everyone riled up? That’s a shame. Apparently,  _ I _ was supposed to be the main event tonight.”

Cloud drew his sword, eyes narrowing. “What are you playing at?”

Lexaeus shrugged. “It’s just going to be a shame to make pancakes of you two, is all. Considering.”

A bell rang, signalling for the match to begin, and Cloud lost track of Aerith immediately in the dust kicked up by the resulting earthquake.

Cloud did a quick mental run through of the information available to him, and hated the conclusion with every gut he had.

Lexaeus had left Shinra. Pretty recently, if Cloud had to guess, based on factors he couldn’t entirely pin down.

Lexaeus had mako blue eyes.

Lexaeus had a weird magic power with effects that were big enough that it was probably harder for him to tone them down than push them further.

“How many of these people  _ are _ there?” Cloud rolled away from a fissure that had opened under his feet.

Aerith bumped into him, dodging something else he hadn’t seen. “Enough,” she said. “More than enough, even.”

“I think I’ll spend the rest of my life wishing I’d never met Axel,” Cloud said. “I take  _ one _ job from his new coworkers and suddenly  _ all _ of these people are in my life, trying to kill me, I  _ swear _ .”

A shadow appeared in the dust, and Cloud charged. Aerith’s blizzaga passed by him, hitting Lexaeus in the chest, and Cloud followed it up with a strike from his own sword.

Lexaeus fell, and did not get up.

“There’s  _ no _ way he’s that squishy,” Aerith said.

“You’re telling  _ me _ ,” Cloud said.

~*~*~*~

They found Lexaeus in one of the other waiting rooms.

“You threw that match,” Cloud accused.

“What, are you  _ upset _ ? You won.” Lexaeus leaned back in his chair. “Axel had the right idea of it, getting out. I’m letting Corneo ship me back to Shinra to get marshalled for you two, so the least you can do is give him my regards. Tell him Shinra’s moving towards something they won’t let the rest of us see, and to be careful.”

“Actually, I’m pretty sure he’s a traitor to me, my family, and my primary source of income,” Cloud said.

“Mm.” Lexaeus’ nose scrunched up. “Doesn’t sound like him. I wouldn’t think he’d risk Xion like that.”

“He let me get dropped off a plate, so…” Cloud shrugged. “Maybe you don’t know him as well as you thought you did.”

“You’re still complaining about  _ winning _ ,” Lexaeus said. “If you won’t take it as payment to pass on my message, take it as an apology for the fall, at least.”

Cloud stepped forward. “I--”

Aerith’s hand landed on his shoulder. “Thank you,” she said to Lexaeus. “I appreciate not being a pancake. Come on, Cloud, let’s get ready for the final match.”

~*~*~*~

“There’s an extra fight,” Madam M said.

“I’m gonna commit seven special and unique crimes,” Aerith said.

“Yeah, you’re fucking telling  _ me _ !” Madam M threw her hands in the air. “That no good, cheap, cheating bastard son of a snake!”

“The first crime shall be theft,” Aerith muttered. “We will steal the prize money, the three of us, and instead of endorsing me we will use it to commit the second crime, which shall be hiring a small army for the purposes of breaking and entering--”

“Aerith, we’re not doing the crime plan,” Cloud said. “I cannot begin to impress upon you how many ways that will go wrong.”

“I  _ am _ interested in this plan,” Madam M said. “But you’re right, it won’t work. You’ll just have to beat whatever else Corneo has in store for you. You beat that earthquake motherfucker and those robots, I’m sure you can handle it.”

~*~*~*~

“Cloud,” Aerith said.

“Aerith,” Cloud said.

“Cloud, that’s a house,” Aerith said.

“Apparently,” Cloud said.

~*~*~*~

“Evil house!” Aerith yelped, running out of the house’s direct line of sight as it ate Cloud for the third time. “ _ Evil _ house!”

~*~*~*~

The evil house exploded, and the two of them collapsed, panting.

“I never want to fight a house again,” Cloud said.

“What a way to confirm you’re not into vore,” Aerith agreed.

He shoved her, before pushing himself back to his feet and helping her up. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Sounds good to me.” She waved to the crowd as they walked back into the staging area.

Lexaeus was still there, apparently waiting for them. “Thanks for not making me look bad,” he said, smirking.

“We need the money,” Cloud said. “Nothing to do with you.”

“Going on a honeymoon?” Lexaeus crossed his arms, expression not changing.

“Apparently, that’s the going price for a dress and a shower,” Aerith said.

“Mm,” Lexaeus said. “Yeah, it’s the showers that’ll get you.”

“No kidding,” Aerith said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its 3am :)
> 
> Aerith's Crime Plan:  
> 1\. Theft  
> 2\. Hiring an army for breaking and entering  
> 3\. Theft  
> 4\. Torture  
> 5\. Technically kidnapping (but Tifa'd be down with it)  
> 6\. Murder, probably  
> 7\. Theft
> 
> As someone who was unfamiliar with the original FFVII, that evil house was a fucking TRIP when I saw it get up and start running around


	18. Healthy Boundaries In The Red Light District

“Alright,” Madam M said. “Aerith, you’re with me. Cloud, Andrea’s taken an interest in you, so I’ve enlisted Sam to teach you about Wall Market. Andrea will discard you if he finds out you haven’t had the talk yet.”

Cloud blinked. “Hold on, I missed something.”

“Bother Sam about it,” Madam M started shepherding Aerith into the back room of her parlor. “I have work to do.”

Aerith grinned and gave Cloud a thumbs up before she ended up out of view.

“Just once,” he muttered, starting towards the Chocobo stables. “Just once, I’d like to know what someone’s talking about. Once in my life, it’d be nice.”

Pretty soon, he arrived.

“Alright,” he said, catching Sam’s attention. “Madam M mentioned a talk. Is this the one about where babies come from, or does Wall Market have its own?”

Sam laughed. “No, she was implying you look like a virgin.”

“Great, cool,” Cloud said.

“Look,” Sam said. “She wants me to find you someone to fuck before you go in to see Andrea, I’ll be transparent. But honestly, we here in Wall Market owe our patrons better than that, so you’re gonna do other jobs that you’ll be, you know, actually good at.”

“Is this supposed to be insulting?” Cloud raised an eyebrow. “Because I feel like it would be more effective if sex was actually on the priority list, here.”

“Fair enough,” Sam said. “Busy fellow, I know the type. Look, there are some folks around town looking for a little bit of assistance that’s more your speed. Here, I’ve got them written down.”

He handed Cloud a piece of paper.

“Take care of these while you wait,” he said. “Seems like a better use of your time.”

“Thanks,” Cloud said.

~*~*~*~

Sam’s requests didn’t take  _ too _ long, all distractions considered. He tried to go back to Madam M’s afterwards, but the man intercepted him.

“Right, so, now you talk to Andrea,” he said.

“The man Madam M said would end the conversation if he thought I was a virgin,” Cloud said. “Perfect.”

“Yeah, that’s the man,” Sam said. “How’d you like the gym, by the way?”

“I’ve been wondering where all the gay men were since I got to Midgar,” Cloud said. “It’s nice to know that all the ones that aren’t challenging me to motorcycle races or selling me out in power plants are having a good time working out.”

Sam laughed and clapped him on the shoulder. “Observant one, aren’t you?”

“It’s not difficult,” Cloud said.

“Whatever you say,” Sam said. “Andrea’ll be waiting for you at the Honeybee Inn. I suggest you don’t keep him waiting too long.”

“Right,” Cloud said.

~*~*~*~

When Cloud gave his name to the receptionist, he was ushered to a backstage area. It wasn’t lit, but he could see a  _ lot _ of dresses by the light streaming in from the door behind him.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” he sighed.

“Paranoid, aren’t you?”

Cloud couldn’t place where the voice had come from, but the door behind him slammed shut. He whirled in the sudden darkness eyes darting around for any sign of light.

Someone brushed past his shoulder. His hands went for his sword on instinct, but when they closed on empty air he realized it had been taken in the shuffle to bring him to this room.

“I’ve heard about your little plan,” the voice said, whispered into the ear opposite the previous contact. “I must say, you’re a bold one.”

Hands settled on his shoulders.

“Strong, too. I saw your fights.”

The hands began to slide down his arms. Cloud shuddered, pulling away.

“Hm,” the voice said. “Paranoia again? Or are you the straightlaced type.”

“Bold of you to assume I’m ‘straight’ anything,” Cloud muttered.

Laughter. Was that good? Cloud really hoped that was good.

“A little uptight, though, maybe.” The voice was moving. If he listened, Cloud could hear quiet footsteps circling him.

“Look,” Cloud said. “I don’t do games. You’re going to have to be direct with me.”

The lights flickered on. Cloud hissed, shielding his eyes until they’d somewhat adjusted, before reassessing the room.

There were still a lot of dresses, but he could also see a table and two chairs. One of those chairs was occupied by a man. He wasn’t dressed like a Honeyboy.

“Andrea Rhodea, I presume,” Cloud said.

“Cloud Strife,” Andrea said, nodding. “I hear you’re having quite the week.”

“You’re telling me,” Cloud said, taking the other chair. “So, what’s up?”

“Like I said, I heard about your plan from the, ah, local masseuse.” Andrea clapped his hands twice, and several of his employees emerged from unguessable locations and set down two glasses and a bottle of wine before disappearing. “Interesting gambit, I’ll admit. But don’t you think your lady friends could use all the backup they can get?”

Andrea poured the wine, and handed Cloud one of the glasses.

“Is this the part where you reveal one of your bees can kick ass and offer to send them in?” Cloud set the glass down. “I ask, because from what Madam M and Chocobo Sam have been implying, the type of payment you take isn’t something I deal in.”

“Nothing like  _ that _ ,” Andrea said, taking a sip from his own glass. “My employees are dancers, not warriors. No, I’m offering to get  _ you _ into Don Corneo’s mansion.”

Cloud looked around at the dresses. “What do you want from me?”

“That’s the question, isn’t it?” Andrea said. “It seems we deal in different currencies, for such favors. I suppose there’s  _ nothing _ I can do to convince you?”

“Do you want to hear the story of the  _ last _ people who thought they could ‘change my mind’?”

“Fair enough, fair enough.” Andrea leaned back. “Let’s see… you’re a warrior, but can you dance?”

“Never tried,” Cloud said.

“I see,” Andrea said. “Well, here’s my offer; one drink, one dance, and your friends have that--” he snapped his fingers, “-- much more backup in the Corneo Mansion. What do you say?”

Cloud looked at his wine dubiously. “How long is this going to take?”

Andrea laughed. “Really, most of the time is going to go into getting you dressed.”

Cloud considered that, and picked up the glass, taking a sip.

“That a deal?”

“Yes.”

~*~*~*~

“Don’t slouch,” Andrea scolded, lacing up the corset. “These things are built for support, it won’t fit right if I tie it up while you’re leaned over like that.”

“I’m not leaned over,” Cloud complained, sitting up as tall as he could.

A Honeygirl grabbed his face, and started brushing his hair. “When was the last time you touched this?” She wrinkled her nose in frustration. “Andrea, are you sure we don’t have time for a shower?”

“Use the dryworks,” Andrea said. “He’s not going to let us undress him any more than we already have, I checked.”

“If I’d slept in the last two days, I wouldn’t have let you go  _ that _ far,” Cloud said. “I don’t know you people. When do I get my sword back?”

“Eventually,” Andrea said.

“Wonderful,” Cloud muttered venomously.

“Look,” Andrea said. “If you’ve got half a million gil to spare to cover the cost of the dress and the time it takes to get you into it…”

“I didn’t realize gil was an option,” Cloud said.

“What, can you afford it?”

“... No.”

“Yeah, I figured. Merc work doesn’t pay that much unless they’re getting you to commit war crimes.”

“I didn’t get paid that much when I  _ was  _ committing war crimes,” Cloud said.

Andrea laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> guess who got maybe three hours of sleep last night? this guy!! ouch oof me legys :(
> 
> Writing Andrea was... a /challenge/. I didn't want to deviate from any character's canon characterization much more than I had to, but tbh I was not a fan of the way he was written. A lot of the same issues I've seen in mainstream bi/gay characters before, overall. I'm still not... the /most/ pleased with him? but as he is no longer the least cishet person with an impact on the story I hope the issue is mitigated a bit by that as well. More on that soon enough lol


	19. Top Ten Dress-Up Games To Play Exactly Three Times And Never Touch Again

When Cloud was fully dolled up, Andrea led him onto a stage. The stage lights were on, and while Cloud couldn’t  _ see _ the audience he could  _ definitely _ hear them.

“You didn’t say this was going to be public,” he hissed.

“Figured I’d get my gil’s worth.”

Cloud would have answered with something rude enough he might have lost his endorsement, but that was the moment when the music began, and he found himself in motion.

Surprisingly, he was able to use some of his combat skills to help him out. He was good at staying on his feet, and he was able to read and mirror Andrea’s movements reasonably well. When they were done, and he could feel the other man’s breath on his face in the position they finished in, the audience clapped and it was more than just a polite applause.

“I thought you said you hadn’t danced before,” Andrea purred.

“I’ve paid my half of the deal,” Cloud said, quiet enough that the audience couldn't hear him over their own ambient sound.

Andrea laughed. “You sure did. Guess that means it’s my turn now.”

“I’d appreciate that.”

~*~*~*~

Aerith met Cloud outside the Honeybee Inn.

“Nice dress,” she said.

“You too,” he said.

“You’re… you’re not mad, right?” Aerith said. “I brought up the idea to Madam M, and she…”

“It’s better than waiting outside, I guess,” Cloud said. “Let’s do this.”

Aerith sighed in relief, but the tension didn’t totally leave her shoulders as they walked towards Corneo’s mansion.

“You’re… still waiting for me to say something.”

“What?” She raised her hands defensively. “No, not at all.”

Cloud looked at her incredulously. “Look,” he said. “This isn’t my favorite outfit I’ve ever worn, and I’m not going to pretend it is. It’s uncomfortable, and I don’t like how the people we’re passing are looking at me.”

“They look at you anyways,” Aerith said.

“Not like this,” Cloud muttered.

Normally, when people looked at Cloud, it was with a general curiosity, or occasionally concern if they recognized the uniform of a first class SOLDIER. They didn’t look at him like they were trying to drink something in with their eyes. He was unnerved, being so universally  _ coveted. _

“And that’s all?” Aerith asked.

Cloud looked at her, at the tension in her face and body, and considered what he knew about her.

“Oh,” he said, coming to an understanding. “I guess the main issue is that it’s not the dress I would’ve picked out for myself, yeah.”

Aerith smiled. “Yeah, that’s about where I’m at, too.”

They reached the door to the mansion, and were stopped by three of Corneo’s men. Wordlessly, they handed over their endorsements.

“I see,” the man who took their endorsements said. He gave them a knowing look, unobtrusively making it clear that he recognized them from the arena, and waved them through. “Up the stairs and all the way down the hall. Good luck.”

“Thanks,” Aerith said.

~*~*~*~

“Wake up.”

Xion curled in on herself, recognizing that the command wasn’t for her before she realized she didn’t recognize the voice. She stiffened, clutching the blanket that had been wrapped around her.

“What is it now?” A second voice, clearly groggy from a more natural sleep. Distantly familiar, as if she’d known it, but hadn’t heard it in a long time.

“You’ve got another assignment,” the first voice said. “Sector 7 pillar.”

Xion sat up, letting go of the idea that she might sleep some more, and turned towards the voices. Absently, she noticed that her blanket was duplicated, in a manner distressingly similar to the Turk from before.

“Why are they sending  _ me _ there?” The blue-haired owner of the second voice asked.

“Take a wild fucking guess.” The first speaker, an older man with a missing eye, crossed his arms.

“Xigbar, I--”

“You know what you do, Saix,” Xigbar said. “Besides, Reno’s going with you.”

“The hell are they sending me with a Turk for?” Saix muttered. “Even  _ him _ …”

“Come on!” Xigbar said, voice taking on a teasing tone. “You’ll behave for  _ Reno, _ won’t you?”

“I’ll behave regardless,” Saix said. “I just want to know why they think anything they’re sending Turks into is worth  _ my _ time.”

Xigbar laughed. “Attaboy,” he said, ignoring the glare he received from Saix, and how everything around them seemed to glow for half a second. “Now go get dressed and ready for work.”

~*~*~*~

“Hey, wake up.”

His head was still muzzy with gas, but he was able to recognize Tifa when he opened his eyes.

“Hi,” he said, pushing himself upright. “Fucking gas…”

“Heh, yeah,” Tifa said. “You alright?”

“Just dandy,” he said. “Where’s…”

He stopped, eyes falling on Aerith’s unconscious form.

“She should be up any time,” Tifa said. “You made a sound first, so I…”

Cloud blinked. Tifa hadn’t recognized him. “Uh,” he said.

Aerith grunted, sitting up. “Damnit,” she muttered.

“Hey, are you okay?” Tifa asked, moving over to her. “That gas was pretty nasty, right?”

Aerith put her hand to her head. “Yeah, I-- Where’s Cloud?”

Tifa jolted back from her. “Wh--”

“Here,” Cloud said.

Tifa turned to him, realization dawning. “What’s going on?”

“We’re here to help!” Aerith said brightly.

“Cloud, I told you to go back to the bar,” Tifa said. “This is intentional.”

“Doesn’t mean I wanted to leave you here without backup,” Cloud said. “Let’s go back now, alright?”

“No,” Tifa said. “I have to interrogate Don Corneo. Find out what he wanted with Barret and where Shinra keeps its prisoners.”

“Did Barret get--”

“No.” She shook her head. “Cloud, I-- I’m sorry.”

“You keep saying that,” Cloud said. “What  _ happened _ ?”

“The kids,” Tifa said, and his blood ran cold. “All of them. Barret and Axel are freaking out, Biggs is probably most of the way down a spiral of self blame, I-- I didn’t want to be the one to tell you, but--”

She cut herself off, swaying in place, holding her arms, and looking away from him.

“I’m sorry,” she said again.

“Sounds like Biggs isn’t the only person who’s spiraling,” Aerith said. “So, the plan is to get those two questions answered and get back to Sector 7?”

“Yeah,” Tifa said. “Hey, Cloud, where’d you meet her?”

“I got dropped off the plate,” Cloud said.

“I’m gonna kick Axel’s ass when we get through the other side of this,” Tifa said.

“Get in line,” Cloud said.

“He helped me beat up some Turks and a bioweapon,” Aerith said. “And he had dinner at my house. Cloud, I mean. I haven’t met Axel. I don’t know what the verdict on him is. Would it help if I also offered to kick his ass?”

“You make friends fast, huh?” Tifa asked Aerith.

“I like to,” Aerith said. “It helps that Cloud’s pretty friendly, too.”

“I don’t know where she got that idea,” Cloud said.

Tifa laughed. “I might.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cloud: I am /not/ friendly. I don't let people get close to me easy. I'm edgy  
> Aerith, louder: Everyone, this is Cloud, my new best friend in the whole world,
> 
> For anyone wondering what the subtext in Cloud and Aerith's wardobe conversation is, it'll be made more obvious in a later chapter dw!! in the meantime im like /pretty/ sure you can guess tho


	20. HEARTBREAKING: Local Gang Only People In This Building Who Aren't Horny

Xion watched the screens around her with a polite interest that she was pretty sure none of the people working on them appreciated.

“It’s her, alright,” one of them said. “She’s got the right antigen markers.”

“Too much simple sugar in her diet,” one of the others said. “The process of breaking it down isn’t making the right byproducts, so her power level is much lower than it should be. The failsafes can produce a certain amount, as a panic response, but…”

“Considering what she does?” The first wiped the back of their neck. “That might be a good thing, at least for now.”

“That might explain the performance issues VI and XI are having, too,” a third said. “Although, where they’d be  _ getting _ the stuff--”

“We’ll have to keep a closer eye on them,” the second said. “If we want to intentionally suppress her ability, we’ll have to requisition specific rations for her, with an explanation.”

“Higher ups’d never approve it,” the first said. “I’m just worried she’ll accidentally terminate the rest of the Project.”

“XII hasn’t, and  _ she’s _ the sort to do it on purpose.”

~*~*~*~

The loudspeaker chimed on. “Ladies, please make your way to the audition.”

“Showtime,” Tifa said, plastering a nervous grin onto her face. “Ready, ladies?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Cloud said. “It’s time.”

They followed the hall out of the strange, dark area they’d been kept in.

Aerith kicked some small debris as she passed it. “Why even bother with the gas, if they’re going to let us walk through now?”

Tifa shrugged. “Power move?”

“Ah,” Aerith said. “They’re insecure.”

Conversation died as they reached a room with significantly nicer decor and a noticeable amount of men.

“Alright, line up,” one of the arena announcers said, him and the other men herding them into a row. He paused, eyes narrowing, and looked closer at Aerith. “Wait… have I seen you before?”

She shook her head.

After that, Corneo arrived.

Don Corneo was the culmination of everything Cloud hated about wearing this outfit, and he was pretty sure Aerith and Tifa were rethinking their own dresses, too.

“Hm,” Corneo said, when he finally stepped back from the three of them. “Let’s see…”

“What a pervert,” Cloud muttered.

“What? Who said that?” Corneo snapped. He stepped into Cloud’s personal space. “Was it you?”

Cloud held his breath.

Don Corneo grinned. “Got a mouth on you, don’t you? I’ll enjoy fixing that.”

Cloud  _ tried _ to hide his disgust. He really did. Somehow, though, the man in front of him was turned on by the idea of someone genuinely despising him.

“Do what you will with the spares,” Corneo said, grabbing Cloud’s arm and dragging him away.

~*~*~*~

“So, ladies,” one of the men said. “Shall we begin?”

“You know,” Aerith said. “My mom has a nickname for men like you.”

“Really?” The men around them laughed. “And what would  _ that _ be, little lady?”

Aerith picked up a chair, chirping brightly as Tifa balled her fists, “Dead meat!”

In less than a minute, the men were on the floor.

Behind Aerith and Tifa, the door opened, and they turned.

The man standing there was the man who’d taken Aerith and Cloud’s endorsements. “Peace offering,” he said quickly, holding up a bundle and Cloud’s sword. “Courtesy of the Honeybee Inn.”

Aerith took them, eyeing him suspiciously. “You’ve got your fingers in all the pies around here, huh?”

“Are you complaining?”

“No,” Tifa said quickly. “Thanks for the stuff. Where’s our friend?”

He pointed.

“Okay.” Tifa dug into the bundle and pulled out her own clothes, somehow. “Should we knock you out for the sake of plausible deniability?”

“I’ll just lie down on the floor,” he said, pulling out a stage make-up kit and starting to apply fake blood under his nose. “This isn’t my first rodeo, and I like not having my head slammed into hard surfaces, personally.”

~*~*~*~

Cloud was not sure how long he’d been sitting on the edge of a bed insulting an incredibly horny man, but he was looking forward to being able to leave.

He felt the hands take hold of his arm, and jerked away.

“Come now, you can’t play hard to get forever,” Corneo said.

“Well,” Cloud said. “You’re awfully hard to want.”

Did it take ten hours for the conversation to progress? Cloud was  _ pretty sure _ it took ten hours.

“You know, this is only fun for so long.”

“I’m aware,” Cloud said.

“You know what happens when this stops being fun, right?”

“I leave?”

Corneo laughed. “Oh, you wish.”

Cloud was starting to feel like Andrea had gotten the better end of their deal.

That was when the door slammed open, revealing Aerith and Tifa in their regular clothes and otherwise pretty ready to kick some ass.

“No, I think I leave,” Cloud said, standing and walking over to them. Aerith handed him his regular clothes and his sword.

Cloud changed his shoes and tucked the rest of the clothes into a hidden pocket. He  _ really _ didn’t want to change in front of this guy, no matter  _ how _ heterosexual the man was.

“So, Corneo,” Tifa said. “I’ve got some questions for you, and you’re going to answer them.”

“Oh, am I?” Corneo said.

“Yes,” Tifa said. “Or I’m borrowing my friend's sword and introducing it to, well… you can guess where.”

“Tifa,” Cloud said, a little offended. “ _ I _ reserve ball removal rights. It’s  _ my _ sword.”

“I am answering your questions,” Corneo said.

“Wonderful!” Tifa said. “Now. Why were your men looking for Barret Wallace, and where does Shinra keep its prisoners? I know you know.”

“Oh, that’s simple enough.” Corneo moved backwards a bit on the bed, trying to look casual. “The arrest of Barret Wallace and any other AVALANCHE leadership in Sector 7 would have meant Shinra wasn’t going to drop the plate. Good customers from Sector 7, you know.”

Tifa froze. Aerith put her hands over her mouth.

Cloud pointed his sword. “And her other question?”

“Any number of places, depending on the prisoner.” Corneo continued moving backwards. “Whoever you’re looking for, I wouldn’t know where to start--”

“Children,” Aerith said quietly. “We’re looking for children.”

“ _ Children _ ?” Corneo said incredulously. “You three?”

Cloud rolled his eyes. “None of your business why us,” he said. “Where would they be?”

“Mm,” Corneo said. “Don’t know, don’t care.”

He pulled a lever, and the three of them dropped through the floor.

“Shit!” Aerith yelled.

“Yeah, that’s about where we’re headed!” Tifa agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If the antigen marker thing at the front of the chapter is bad science blame Middlegame by Seanan Mcguire. and also read it bc it's good as hell


	21. Top Eight Mediocre Sewer Sections With Minimal Plot Relevant Information

One monster fight and a bit of searching later, Cloud had climbed into a side room they’d found to change, leaving Aerith and Tifa outside.

“So,” Aerith said. “You two have known each other a while, huh?”

“Since we were kids,” Tifa said. “He’s changed a lot, but… underneath it, I’m pretty sure he’s still the same Cloud.”

Aerith nodded.

“So, you met him after he got dropped off the plate?” Tifa leaned against the wall. “What sort of state was he in?”

“Unconscious,” Aerith said. “I had to wait for him to wake up, and then we fought Reno.”

“Reno?”

“Reno Sinclair,” Aerith said. “He’s a Turk. Him and his partner Rude are, uh…  _ kind of _ assigned to kidnap me.”

“What? Why?”

“That’s personal.”

Tifa bit her lip, and forced herself to pick  _ one _ of the implications Aerith had thrown at her over the course of this conversation. “You’re on a first name basis with people who are trying to kidnap you.”

“Well, I see them like every week, so…” Aerith shrugged. “The whole kidnapping thing is basically a formality at this point, although we do shake our fight tactics up to try and throw each other off, when we can.”

“Are you  _ sure _ it’s a formality?”

“Well, if they  _ can _ do it, they will,” Aerith said. “But also, it’s just sort of how we hang out. Reno likes to bring other friends sometimes, but they always take it too seriously so I don’t generally see any of them more than once.”

“That’s… interesting,” Tifa said. “Hey, do you want to hang out with me and Cloud and everyone else we work with forever?  _ Totally _ a non sequitur, but--”

“I’m probably grounded for life if I go home, so sure,” Aerith said.

“You’re a grown woman.”

“Yeah, and my mother is going to be  _ pissed _ that I went to Wall Market with a boy she explicitly kicked out of our house,” Aerith said.

The door opened, and Cloud rejoined the party in his regular clothes that he theoretically actually liked. “We need to get to Sector 7,” he said.

“Right,” Tifa said. “I don’t want to believe Corneo about the plate, but…”

“Better safe than sorry,” Aerith agreed.

~*~*~*~

The trio emerged from underground, panting, and watched a helicopter go overhead.

“That’s… that’s just a patrol, right?” Tifa said.

“It had better be,” Cloud said. “Let’s get moving.”

“Cloud.” Tifa shifted on her feet. “There’s… There’s rumors of  _ ghosts _ in there.”

“Tifa.” Cloud pointed to his sword. “We’ve  _ fought  _ ghosts before. We’ll be fine.”

“I guess,” Tifa said. “Still, I…”

“These are  _ rumored _ ghosts,” Aerith said. “They’re not immediately punchable, so they’re scarier.”

Cloud considered that. “Well, we’ve got to check on the pillar and get back to the bar to plan our next move somehow. I’d love to avoid the train graveyard full of rumored ghosts as much as the next person, but if we don’t have any other ideas…”

Tifa narrowed her eyes. “You’re using parenting tactics on me.”

“The day Roxas figures out that eating vegetables doesn’t keep poison robot laser lions away is the day I fail as a guardian,” Cloud said. “Come on.”

The three of them began picking their way towards the pillar.

~*~*~*~

“I still think it’s a regular patrol,” Jessie grumbled, only limping slightly with her ankle firmly braced in place.

“No one said you all had to come,” Axel said. “I just have a bad feeling, okay? I  _ don’t _ like that Zexion was here, I just need to check a few things around the sector to make sure that, well…”

“That nothing else is out of place,” Barret said.

“Exactly.” Axel didn’t look at the rest of the unit as they continued climbing the pillar.

“I think we should go back to the bar,” Wedge said. “We don’t know when Tifa’s going to get back from Wall Market, and--”

“Like I said,” Axel snapped, “no one said you had to come.”

“Axel,” Biggs said. “I know you’re upset, but--”

“If he wants to complain about something he signed up for, it’s not my job to coddle him,” Axel said. “I didn’t ask him to come up here and he’s not Xion, he’s not my responsibility.”

“Yeah, but Axel,” Wedge said, “we’re worried about  _ you _ .”

Axel was silent for a few moments, but didn’t stop moving. “I guess I should appreciate that,” he said.

~*~*~*~

Glowing, white drawings appeared on the ground of the graveyard.

“I don’t like that,” Tifa said. “At all. I changed my mind, I want to find a way around.”

“Tifa,” Cloud said, “you can punch a robot to death and shoot fire from your hands, you’ll be fine.”

“A robot is not a ghost,” Aerith said.

“Astute observation. She’s also punched ghosts to death.”

“We don’t know if they died or went away,” Tifa said.

“Ghosts are already dead, that’s like the whole point,” Aerith said at the same time.

Cloud kept walking.

“Hey!” Tifa said. “Wait up!”

~*~*~*~

The three of them looked around at each other after defeating the ghoul.

“Not a word,” Cloud said. “Let’s just get out of here.”

“Finally, something we can agree on,” Tifa sighed.

~*~*~*~

“Hey,” Aerith said. “Do you think the trains still work?”

Cloud looked around at the dead end they’d found themselves in. “It’s worth a shot,” he said, climbing into one of the engines. “Come on.”

The engine did, in fact, still work. Various indicators sprung to life as the train began to move.

The three of them stumbled, more than they probably should have. Cloud felt Aerith grab his arm for balance, and then felt a breeze brush past his shoulder as the radio clicked on.

~*~*~*~

Reno looked down from the helicopter, frozen, unsure how to react to what he was seeing.

His line of sight was broken in an instant, when Rude jerked the vehicle away from Barret’s gunfire.

From his back seat, Saix lunged forward and grabbed the radio. “Number VIII is present on site,” he said. “Requesting assistance for retrieval.”

“Sending backup,” the voice on the other side said.

Reno shook himself, grabbed the radio, and put it back in its cradle. For the moment, they couldn’t be heard through it. “Do you really want to drag him back, Saix?”

“The alternative is killing him,” Saix said.

The radio voice continued. “When VIII retrieved, will you be prepared to complete your task?”

Rude took the radio. “There are multiple other resistors present, but they shouldn’t present too much of an obstacle,” he said.

“Excellent.”

Then  _ he _ put the radio back. “Reno,” he said. “We’ve known each other for a long time. Be honest with me; what is your connection to these people?”

“Down there,” Reno said, sounding a little choked, “is Axel Sinclair. My brother.”

“Number VIII of Project XIII,” Saix continued, “and, at one point, my… best friend. Not that  _ that’s _ going to last the night, one way or another.”

There were the sounds of more helicopters approaching in the distance.

“No, I wouldn’t expect it to,” Rude said. “Are you ready to go down and get him?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YES Cloud fought the monster in his dress. In my humble opinion we were robbed
> 
> Reno: Saix is basically my brother-in-law, but I'm not going to say that out loud because I don't know how you'd react to this information on account of me being a disaster and not having realized we've been dating for the past year and a half  
> Rude: Not realized-- You bought me an anniversary present!!  
> Reno: I wasn't sure if we were doing that in a gay way!!
> 
> Game Devs said "Rude has a crush on Tifa" but I'm an intellectual and I know a married man when I see one. It's my power as a gay person. He respects her as a professional fellow puncher


	22. Shinra Are 'Bitch Ass Motherfuckers', Local Man Reports

More ghosts, and suddenly Aerith couldn’t see Cloud and Tifa anymore.

“I know you’re trying to help,” she said, “but this isn’t really helpful.”

The ghosts danced around her, wailing in dissonant voices, and she realized that they weren’t trying to help her at all.

They were trying to get her to help them.

A sudden, driving sadness drilled into her skull, and she remembered being alone. She remembered being so, so alone. She remembered that, despite everything, she was always going to be alone.

Visions of children ran past her, separate and far away. Visions of children from town, visions of herself so young, visions of…

“I’m ready!” Her younger self balled her fists, looking around wildly. “Come get me!”

Aerith watched years jump forward and back in front of her eyes. She saw her first encounter with Rude and Reno, she saw things from before she’d even come to Midgar, she saw moments in between and after.

“Come get me,” she whispered, standing up, trying to ignore the way loneliness pounded through her veins as she raised her staff.

Something moved behind her, and she dodged to the side on instinct. A chariot roared through the space she’d just been in. She stumbled.

And then, Tifa and Cloud were there.

“Gotcha!” Tifa said, helping Aerith catch her balance.

Aerith was still lonely. In a way, she supposed, she always would be. But, in a way, she knew she would never be alone again.

“Let’s fight that weird bastard chariot,” she said.

“Sounds like a plan.”

~*~*~*~

“Turn yourselves in, or we will use lethal force!”

The security guards swarmed the pillar, firing indiscriminately at all signs of motion.

“Hell, we couldn’t turn ourselves in if we  _ wanted _ to,” Axel muttered.

“I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that,” Jessie said.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking of--”

“Axel, listen to me,” Jessie said. “You’re some science experiment, right? If you get taken into custody, you might have a chance to look for the kids and break back out.”

“I’m  _ not _ going back under Shinra’s control,” Axel said. “Not if I can help it. Not even for a moment. The less of us they have to poke at, the better.”

“How many of you are there?”

“With Xion, and assuming no one else’s busted out, they’ve got thirteen.” Axel popped out of his cover and fired a few shots at the security guards while Wedge and Biggs took a moment to reload. “Although, they generally kept XIII somewhere away from us to study.”

“Why?”

“Is  _ now _ really the time, Jessie?”

“Are we gonna get another opportunity?”

“... He’s not human, or even human shaped. He was the only one of his kind who went through the process, so last I heard they weren’t sure whether it was luck or some quirk of his physiology that it took.”

“Hm…” Jessie considered what she knew about the Project (not much), what she knew about Axel (less than she thought), and what she knew about the Sector 7 pillar.

“You can light on fire,” she said.

“Yeah.”

“Can you, like, shoot it? Focused blasts?”

Axel laughed mirthlessly. “Not unless I want to knock myself off the edge of this balcony with recoil. I’m not exactly at the top of my firespitting game, Jessie.”

Jessie listened to the movement of the security guards, and moved. Into the open, three shots. Two guards down, and one’s shield flying towards the air towards her. She holstered her gun and caught it, holding it defensively as she ducked back into her cover.

“What are you--”

“Take this,” she said, handing it to him. “I’ve got a plan.”

“I haven’t liked your last two plans, Jessie.”

“Third time’s the charm?”

~*~*~*~

As the strange chariot finally died, a large cloud of fire erupted from the Sector 7 pillar, about three fourths of the way up.

“Horrendous,” Cloud said.

“Let’s get moving,” Tifa said.

The three of them ran towards the pillar, although Aerith couldn’t help but feel sad as she saw the ghostly drawings of crying faces that appeared as they passed.

Soon, they were at the pillar, just in time to watch Wedge fall off of something. They rushed over to him.

“Cloud? Tifa?” He looked between them, before his eyes settled on Aerith. “Uh…”

“She’s a friend,” Cloud said. “What’s going on?”

“They’re trying to blow up the pillar,” Wedge said.

“We already knew that,” Aerith said. “Why aren’t we already going up to try to stop them?”

“That fire was from Axel, wasn’t it?” Cloud pushed, ignoring her temporarily. “What’s he doing?”

“His best,” Wedge said. “I think… Shinra’s trying to capture him, specifically.”

“Okay, someone refresh my memory please?” Aerith raised a hand. “Axel’s like Lexaeus and Larxene, right?”

“Like who?” Tifa said. “I mean, we found out this week he’s a bioweapon, if that helps.”

“Alright,” Aerith said. “If I had to guess, I’d say they’re putting off destroying the pillar at risk of terminating him.”

“That guy from the plate’s there,” Wedge said. “Saix.”

“We keep introducing more names into this conversation, huh,” Tifa said.

“Glowy explosion man,” Cloud said.

“Yeah.” Wedge nodded. “We’ve gotta get back up there, I--”

“ _ You _ don’t,” Cloud said. “I’ll go. Aerith, Tifa, can you take care of Wedge?”

Tifa nodded.

“No,” Aerith said. “You’re trying to do things all by yourself again. We had this discussion.”

“Aerith, please,” Cloud said.

She looked at him for a long moment. “Fine,” she said. “But only because there’s already people up there to back you up.”

He ran off, up the stairs of the pillar.

“Well,” Aerith said. “Who wants to see what my cool materia can do?”

“Is this the--” Tifa began, cutting herself off as the three of them were surrounded in light and the scent of cut grass and were healed.

“Let’s go up now,” Wedge said, completely fine.

“Are people evacuating?”

“Huh?”

“Is anyone evacuating the space under the plate?” Aerith looked at him, something intense in her eyes.

“I…” Wedge said. “I don’t know.”

“Could you check for me, please?” She smiled, bright and sunny and sudden and altogether out of place on anyone in the situation except for her. “Get them moving, if they aren’t?”

“The pillar’s not going to collapse,” Tifa said. “We won’t let it.”

“Just in case,” Aerith said. “We don’t know what’s going to happen. We can’t, not really. We can know what might happen, or what would have happened, but we can’t know what will.”

“Aerith?”

“Our own future is a mystery we cannot fathom,” Aerith said. “Every chance we take is taken simultaneously with yet after any other version of ourselves who have the chance to take it. The threads of fate are the warp of the loom, and any form of anxiety or precognition the weft. Do you understand?”

“Absolutely not,” Tifa said.

“Well, let’s go try and save the pillar anyways.” Aerith clapped her hands. “The sooner we go, the better chance I think we have. Everyone in town still needs to evacuate, though.”

“Where’d you pick  _ her _ up?” Wedge asked.

“Cloud,” Tifa said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Axel: I am /never/ stepping foot in a Shinra building again  
> Jessie:
> 
> I legitimately don't understand why they didn't try to use any healing spells at all during this section, storywise. I know there are canonically times when people are too damaged for it to work but like they could have checked. bsides which Wedge was completely conscious and they still made him do things after in the remake so it was the least they coulda done for him imo. I am surprised he was conscious after the fall in the original tbh
> 
> oh yeah!! i finally watched a lets play of the original ffvii and am now watching. a second one. these + the second lp of the remake i watched have taken up a decent amount of this week, even on 1.5x speed.


	23. Breaking Up And How Not To Do It

As the helicopter circled the pillar, Saix and Axel glared each other down.

“You should have laid low,” Saix said. “Especially after our last encounter. You know that, right?”

“Never been my style,” Axel said. “Surprised I lasted until AVALANCHE dug me up, honestly. Where’s Xion?”

“Where else?” Saix crossed his arms. “Let me take you to her. Let me save your life, Axel. Please.”

“And leave the rest of the sector to rot?”

The sound of gunfire, traded between Barret and the helicopter, stretched the pause that fell between them.

“One is a better survivor count than zero,” Saix said.

“Fifty thousand is better than one.” Axel lunged forward knocking Saix to the ground. “You don’t have to do this! Come with me! Help me get Xion back and  _ finally get out _ !”

“You know what that would take,” Saix said.

“So what?” Axel clutched at Saix’s shirt. “To  _ hell _ with Shinra! Every last one of them!”

“Even Reno?”

Axel froze.

“He’s here,” Saix said. “It’s his job to keep me in line tonight.”

“They-- They  _ wouldn’t _ have,” Axel breathed. “Right? Not unless they…?”

“I don’t know what they know,” Saix said.

Axel laughed, but there was no joy in it. “Isn’t that always the way?”

“Always,” Saix said, reaching up to touch Axel’s face. “I missed you.”

“Quit acting like you’re dying, asshole,” Axel said, swatting Saix’s hand away. “You still have a choice. My brother, or everyone in Sector 7. You’re really going to tell me one person is worth all the rest? Even one person we love?”

Saix sighed. “I was afraid you’d say that,” he said.

“Saix--”

In one motion, Axel was pinned instead.

“Yes,” Saix said. “A thousand times yes. You and Reno are more important to me than this whole  _ city _ and I’ll say it a thousand times more if I have to. Don’t make me lose you with the plate. Not you, too.”

Axel’s answer was to punch Saix in the face, knocking the other man off him. The two of them stood, stumbling away from each other.

“Don’t tell me you wouldn’t do the same!” Saix spat. “If our roles were reversed, you wouldn’t be doing any different than me!”

“Yes I would!” Axel wiped the smoke from his eyes. “I’d  _ leave _ ! I’d miss Reno-- of course I would-- but I wouldn’t sacrifice the plate for him!”

“You say that because you’ve been down here so long,” Saix said. “You know the people who are going to die. You love them, now. More than you love us.”

“Not this again,” Axel said. “Saix, I--”

“You’d be willing to let them die if you’d never met them,” Saix said. “If I’d been the one down here with Xion instead of you.”

Axel yelled, wordless rage sparking into sound and flame as he charged Saix again.

~*~*~*~

Aerith and Tifa caught up with Cloud after he’d passed Biggs. Tifa had tears at the corners of her eyes and Aerith’s hand on her shoulder.

“We’re going to the top,” Cloud said. “That’s where the commotion is.”

“What if the pillar  _ does _ collapse?” Tifa looked at him solemnly. “What if the plate  _ does _ fall?”

“That won’t happen,” Cloud said.

“But--”

“Come on.” He started walking again. “Where’s Wedge?”

“Helping with the evacuation,” Aerith said.

Cloud raised an eyebrow at her. “By himself?”

“There’s a lot of people down there,” Aerith said. “People are funny, you know? All it takes is the right person taking the lead, and they’ll all go the same direction.”

“And you think Wedge is the right person?”

“I think he has to be.”

The three of them climbed the tower, dodging the occasional helicopter fire. A flight of stairs later, and they had to take a detour for Jessie.

“Damn ghosts,” Jessie muttered. “Making me look bad. Blowing me up.”

“Jessie,” Tifa choked. “Not you, too.”

Aerith reached into her pockets. “I’ve got potions--”

“No.” Jessie shook her head firmly. “I don’t think those’ll help now.”

“They helped after Cloud fell off a plate,” Aerith said.

“Cloud’s a SOLDIER, he’s different,” Jessie said. “Besides, you three are gonna need them more than I do. Listen.”

They listened. Above them was the sound of gunfire, and yelling that was muffled by the distance and metal.

“Don’t cry, Tifa,” Jessie said, reaching up to stroke Tifa’s face. “You can still save the plate. Make it worthwhile.”

“I can literally--” Aerith began again, but Jessie’s hand fell. Tifa reached out and took it, pressing the knuckles to her forehead and beginning to sob.

“You heard what she said,” Cloud said. “Make it worthwhile. Let’s save Sector 7.”

“Right,” Tifa sighed, taking a deep, ragged breath and wiping her eyes. “Let’s… Let’s go, then. And then we’ll come back, and give Biggs and Jessie proper funerals.”

“A thousand flowers,” Aerith said. “Each. And trees.”

Tifa nodded. “I think they’d appreciate that.”

~*~*~*~

They reached the top floor of the pillar without any more fanfare than the fire and bullets that were already there.

Axel was fighting Saix, who mostly seemed to be avoiding the flames rather than trying to attack.

“Go to Barret,” Cloud said, drawing his sword.

Tifa nodded, taking Aerith’s hand and skirting the edges of the pillar.

Cloud dropped to the floor, sliding and knocking Saix’s feet out from under him and positioning his sword inches away from the man’s neck.

Panting and singed, Axel approached. “Good to see you,” he said.

“Oh, is it?” Cloud tried not to sound  _ too _ bitter, on account of everything else that was happening.

“What was I  _ supposed _ to do, dive off the plate after you?” Axel wiped his forehead, the heat from the flames apparently not having entirely died down. “Damn, I’m out of shape.”

“If this is what you call out of shape, remind me to never let you get  _ in  _ shape ever again.” Cloud turned his attention to the man under his sword. “And  _ you. _ What do  _ you _ have to say for yourself?”

“Bold words for a supposed SOLDIER,” Saix said.

“Ex SOLDIER,” Cloud said.

“Sure, sure.” Saix sighed. “Whatever you say. Just keep your eyes on me.”

Cloud glanced behind himself instinctively, and Saix batted his sword away and rolled to his feet.

“Damnit,” Axel said.

Cloud raised his sword above his head, blocking the dropping Reno from properly landing on him.

“Spoilsport,” Reno said, jumping back and landing next to Saix before turning to Axel.

“Don’t.” Axel’s voice was shockingly soft. “Reno, please.”

“What?” Reno grinned, but he didn’t look any happier than Axel did. “Do you want to make a deal?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Axel and Saix get divorced. I don't have any good jokes to put here


	24. Negotiations For Himbos

The crash of the helicopter hitting the top floor interrupted most everything else that was going on around the impact.

“Rude!” Reno yelped, rushing towards the wreck.

Barret’s gun in his face stopped him in his tracks. He tried not to look down at where the taller man’s boot had crushed a pair of sunglasses.

“Easy, now,” Barret said. “Wouldn’t want to give me a reason to shoot, would you?”

“Please don’t kill him,” Aerith said. “They’ll replace him.”

“Glad to see  _ someone _ cares about me.” Reno shot a pointed look at Axel.

“Dick,” Axel said calmly.

“It’s not Reno you should be worried about,” Saix said. The gun on Barret’s arm glowed a moment, a warning only two members of AVALANCHE had the context to understand.

“Barret, move your arm,” Cloud said. “It’s a mouthful to explain, just--”

“As good as it is to see you alive, you don’t get to tell me what to do,” Barret said.

“Here’s an idea.”

The group turned to Rude, expressions ranging from Barret’s barely contained fury to Cloud’s neutrality to Reno’s utter relief.

Rude adjusted his gloves. “Axel and Aerith come with us, and we don’t blow anything up.”

Barret looked at Axel, and Tifa looked at Aerith.

“You wouldn’t give up your mission this easily,” Axel said. “Either you were never going to drop the plate, or you’ll do it anyways.”

“How do you know our orders aren’t to only drop the plate if we can’t recover you?” Rude pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his suit and replaced the pair he’d lost.

Axel and Aerith looked at each other.

“Just me,” Axel said.

“All or nothing.”

“Right,” Reno said. “You two haven’t been introduced yet. Rude, this is my brother, Axel, the biggest asshole on the planet. Axel, this is my partner, Rude, the most stubborn motherfucker in the universe.”

“Congratulations,” Axel said. “If you’re so sincere about this proposal, you’ll leave the Ancient behind as a show of faith.”

Aerith hissed. Barret’s eyebrows shot up.

“Ancient?” Tifa asked.

“I don’t believe you heard me,” Rude said as another helicopter appeared in the sky behind him. “Both of you, or no deal.”

“What makes you think you  _ can _ blow anything up?” Tifa demanded.

Saix raised his hand.

“Don’t you start,” Cloud said.

“I am simply answering her question,” Saix said. “ _ I _ am why he is so confident they can blow things up. You’ve seen me do it.”

“Don’t you dare.” Cloud pointed his sword again, and Barret’s gun aimed in tandem.

“I’ll go,” Aerith said. “If Axel does, I mean. If us going with you means the plate doesn’t drop…”

“I  _ don’t _ trust this,” Axel said. “You  _ have _ to have something else up your sleeve.”

“Clock’s ticking,” Rude said.

“... Fine.” Axel slouched. “If this is what it takes.”

Rude turned sideways, gesturing Axel and Aerith into the helicopter.

“Axel, wait.” Cloud turned away from Saix, and Axel turned towards him. “I was wrong about you.”

Axel smiled weakly. “I’ll take that as a compliment,” he said.

Then Rude knocked his new prisoners out with well placed jabs to the neck.

“Plate disconnection authorized,” an automated voice rang from a terminal nearby. “Please confirm.”

“You  _ bastard _ !” Tifa shrieked, kicking Reno halfway across the platform. “You lying bastard!”

“Hey,” Reno said. “He said we wouldn’t blow anything up. That’s not an explosion!”

“Makes me half wonder why I got dragged out here, though,” Saix said.

“Tell me how to turn it off,” Tifa said, tears at the corner of her eyes. “Any of you. Right now.”

“Reno, Saix, get in the helicopter,” Rude said. “Ma’am, I’ll walk you through the process.”

“C’mon, Rude, we’re gonna get in trouble!” Reno whined.

“We’ve recovered the Ancient and a dangerous, experimental bioweapon that also happened to be part of the AVALANCHE cell that took out two reactors,” Rude said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we got promoted regardless of anything else we do tonight. Get in the helicopter and sit down.”

Reno grumbled as he and Saix climbed into the helicopter. Around the edges of the scene, the ghostly, robed figures floated, watching without eyes.

“Alright,” Cloud said. “Now get talking.”

“There’s an array of buttons at the bottom left,” Rude said. “Press the button at the top right of that.”

Tifa pushed the button. The robes vanished.

“Confirmed,” the voice said. “Thirty seconds to release.”

Cloud rocketed across the floor, but Rude had already jumped backwards into the helicopter that had now taken off.

“Thanks for doing our job for us!” Reno jeered. “Shame you won’t be able to make the after party!”

“I’m gonna kill them,” Tifa growled.

The helicopter was already gone.

“You two!” Barret said. “Over here! Let’s move!”

Cloud and Tifa ran over to him, latching onto his sides as he grabbed the zipline and slid down.

They got out just before the plate fell.

“Tifa, Cloud,” Barret said. His voice was softer than Cloud had ever heard it before. “Where are the others? Do you know?”

Tifa wiped her eyes again. “Biggs and Jessie… they were dead before we reached you.”

“And Wedge?”

“He was helping with the evacuation,” Cloud said, putting a hand on Tifa’s shoulder. “We don’t know.”

“Where to now?” Tifa sighed. “Where-- Where is there even to go?”

“First things first,” Barret said. “We’re finding Wedge. Or we’re finding out if we’re… not finding Wedge.”

“I need to tell Aerith’s mother what happened to her,” Cloud said. “She’ll be mad at me, but she deserves to know, and not to hear it from Shinra first.”

“Axel and that Turk called her an Ancient,” Tifa said. “What does that mean?”

“The Ancients lived on this planet before we did,” Barret said. “They took care of it. Not much is known about them otherwise.”

“Does that mean Aerith’s mother is--”

“We’ll find out when we talk to her, but I don’t think so.” Cloud started walking, guiding Tifa away from the rubble of Sector 7. “If she were, Rude and Reno would’ve been after her, too.”

“You don’t seem too surprised by your new friend turning out to be inhuman,” Barret said.

“She only sleeps on Saturdays,” Cloud said. “Said so herself.”

Tifa sighed. “They don’t deserve whatever Shinra’s going to do to them. Her, and Axel-- hell, even that Saix guy. They deserve better.”

“We’ll have to figure out how to get rid of Shinra,” Cloud said. “Save them and the kids and anyone else they’ve got locked up for who knows what reason.”

“You know,” Barret said. “Little goals.”

“Right,” Tifa said. “No pressure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Barret: so how did that guy survive me shooting down his helicopter, anyways?  
> [brief cut to Rude with a parachute that has a "hang in there" cat printed on it]  
> Cloud: they keep the Turks well prepared


	25. Trauma Driven Hallucinations And YOU

“He was going back right until the end,” Marle said. “For children, for animals… anyone he might have been able to save.”

Barret pulled Tifa and Cloud into a hug. Cloud stiffened, but didn’t try to resist it; Barret was doing this as much for himself as he was for Tifa.

“Should I tell people?” Marle asked. “Should I tell them that there were only as many survivors as there were because of AVALANCHE?”

“Please,” Barret said. “Tell them we stalled the Turks, tell them what Wedge did… Don’t let Shinra get away with this.”

Marle nodded. “Take care of what you have to do,” she said. “I’ll take care of the survivors from our sector for now.”

~*~*~*~

“Alright, genius, what’s the plan  _ now _ ?” Reno glared at Tseng. “And what are we gonna do with  _ her _ ?”

Tseng followed Reno’s accusing finger to the camera that showed Marlene sitting on a makeshift bed in a makeshift bedroom.

“Marlene Wallace?” Tseng raised an eyebrow. “Daughter of AVALANCHE terrorist Barret Wallace? Take a guess.”

“We can’t contact him to try and ransom her back, even if he _did_ survive that,” Reno said. “It’s too risky, either to Shinra’s public relations or to our own operatives.”

“The Project seems promising,” Tseng said. “Especially now that we have access to it, too. You’ve worked with a couple of them now yourself, haven’t you? Which one do  _ you  _ think would make a good messenger?”

“None I’ve had contact with,” Reno said. “Larxene’s too much of a wild card, Saix isn’t exactly, uh… you know…”

“They wouldn’t give him a chance to speak.”

“Yeah.” Reno sighed. “And Axel wouldn’t do it. Hands down.”

“I’m not sure Axel’s going to be doing much of anything for the foreseeable future,” Tseng said.

“What?”

“After these past few years?” Tseng waved a hand vaguely. “He’ll be under observation for a  _ while, _ and that’s his best case scenario.”

“Mm,” Reno said.

“Don’t tell me you  _ care _ about him?” Tseng almost sounded amused. “You  _ know _ what he is.”

“He’s Axel Sinclair,” Reno said.

“He’s a weapon.”

“He’s my brother.”

“Not anymore.”

~*~*~*~

Cloud stumbled to a stop, hand going to his head.

“Cloud?” Tifa started towards him, but Barret’s hand on her shoulder as Cloud stepped backwards stopped her.

“Let him ride it out,” he said. “No telling what’ll happen if we approach him right now.”

Tifa paused, and nodded, and the two of them watched Cloud’s eyes widen and dart around wildly, looking at something they couldn’t see.

“It looks bad,” Tifa said.

“It probably is,” Barret said. “Considering what just happened, I’m surprised it took him this long to have an episode.”

Tifa bit her lip. “I never noticed before,” she said. “I should have--”

“Are you sure you never noticed?”

Tifa considered that. “He’s been acting strangely,” she allowed. “But I didn’t realize it was, well…”

Cloud turned away from them, apparently preparing to go back the way they’d come.

“Cloud?” Tifa called to him again.

He stiffened, and turned back around, eyes landing on her. Then he muttered something noncommittal and pushed past her and Barret, motioning for them to follow him to Sector 5.

“So, tell us more about this woman we’re going to meet,” Barret said. “I met her daughter for maybe two seconds, and I don’t like flying blind.”

“Elmyra is a good woman who doesn’t like me,” Cloud said. “This visit will not help that second part at all, but she deserves to hear what happened from someone who was there.”

“Shinra probably won’t tell her,” Barret agreed.

It was about then that they hit Wall Market. Most of the survivors from Sector 7 were there, and the place was noticeably worse off than it had been a couple of hours prior.

Cloud tried not to look at it too hard as he kept walking.

~*~*~*~

Axel awoke on an all too familiar bed, with Xion snuggled in beside him. He wrapped his arms around her, taking comfort in the fact that she was so much bigger than she’d been when they’d left this place, that she’d had a few years to be a normal kid.

“And he lives!” Xigbar’s voice was more grating than Axel remembered it being. Whether it was the softening of time, or the chance that something about him had changed in the intervening years, Axel didn’t particularly care. “Better than I was expecting, when I heard  _ someone _ knew where to find you.”

Axel sat up, repositioning Xion against his chest and glaring. Xigbar had a hand on Zexion’s shoulder, a casual posture that  _ almost _ disguised the deathgrip keeping the younger man in place.

“I’m  _ not _ in the mood for this,” Axel said. “What do you want, Xigbar?”

Xigbar sighed. “Axel, Axel, Axel.  _ You  _ haven’t changed a bit, have you? I just wanted to tell you to check the news, when you’ve got the time. I’m… I’ve got work to do, you know?”

Axel’s heart dropped. He’d  _ known _ there was some sort of trick. He’d  _ known, _ and he’d still gone along with the deal. He should have done better.

Xigbar’s grin changed somewhat as he noticed Axel’s reaction to his words. “Well, that was all,” he said, releasing Zexion’s shoulder and walking out of the room.

Zexion rubbed at where he’d been restrained. “Why didn’t you run? You  _ knew _ they’d look for you there.”

“You took Xion,” Axel said. “You brought her  _ here _ .”

“I didn’t have a choice,” Zexion said. “They would have killed her.”

“There’s  _ always _ a choice,” Axel said. “ _ You _ could have run. Don’t you get it, Zexion? You could have  _ run, _ and then three of us would have been free instead of none.”

“Lexaeus tried to run,” Zexion said. “Just yesterday, now. Tried to route out of the city through Wall Market, as a security hole.”

“Corneo’s too much of a Shinra shill to let that happen,” Axel said. “There aren’t holes in the walls of this city.”

“There  _ weren’t _ ,” Zexion corrected. “If we can get into the Sector 7 rubble, we might be able to sneak out--”

“Are you fucking with me?” Axel raised an eyebrow. “They’re going to be combing through that to hell and back, trying to find some indication of AVALANCHE’s plans.”

“Those, I think, they’re going to try to get from you,” Zexion said. “Break you down emotionally, with cabin fever and perceived helplessness, and try and draw it out of you. It’s what they did to Saix, after you left.”

Axel bit his lip, trying not to feel too bad about that. “I’m not going to tell them anything,” he said. “I won’t be here for too long.”

Zexion nodded. “At least visit XIII before you go.”

“Ugh, do we  _ still _ have to call him that?” Axel lay Xion back on the bed and stood.

“Technically, we’re supposed to call everyone by number,” Zexion said. “Our handlers are only told our numbers, too, and a lot of them don’t give us the opportunity to introduce ourselves.”

“Ah, yes, our handlers,” Axel said. “The weak link in our containment, especially since…”

“They’ve gotten a little cocky,” Zexion agreed. “You proved we  _ could _ escape, but since none of the rest of us  _ have _ they  _ seem  _ to have decided we don’t want to.”

“Why  _ are _ you all still here?” Axel asked.

Zexion shrugged. “Nowhere else to go,” he said. “Besides, if one of us left for good, we’d basically be trapping everyone else inside.”

“Crabs in a bucket,” Axel muttered. “I suppose security’s going up  _ anyways, _ now that I’m back?”

“Yeah.” Marluxia leaned against the doorframe. “Thanks, by the way. I was supposed to have a date on Friday.”

“When did you have time to schedule a date?” Zexion asked. “When did you have time to develop a relationship enough for dating?”

“Most of us develop relationships  _ through _ dating,” Marluxia said. “And I was  _ really _ looking forward to it, actually.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t push Saix to kill my brother so I wouldn’t get dragged back here through broken promises and death,” Axel deadpanned. “I will try to do better next time.”

“Still insufferable,” Marluxia muttered, with only a little bit of rancor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reno: how could you say that??  
> Tseng: I have to believe it or I'll have a crisis of morality and break down because I'm 30 years old and basically in charge of a section of paramilitary operation for a company that creates and uses bioweapons so cavalierly I'm half surprised they haven't turned us into any yet  
> Passing Other Turk: just punch the bathroom mirrors and cry during your lunch break like the rest of us
> 
> literally everyone who breathes in the direction of being involved with these events needs therapy


	26. Prioritizing In A Crisis: Why You Should Go Back To Bed

Elmyra was waiting outside her house when they arrived. “What happened to the plate?”

“Shinra,” Cloud said. “They…” he trailed off, looking to Tifa.

“We were trying to defend the pillar,” Tifa said. “They promised not to explode anything if Aerith and our other friend, Axel, went with them, and we made the mistake of assuming that meant they wouldn’t drop the plate.”

Elmyra sighed. “Aerith made the final choice,” she said. “I know her well enough, I can almost see it. If she thought she could save Sector 7…”

“They called her an Ancient,” Cloud said.

“It shouldn’t have been any of your business,” Elmyra said. “Thank you very much for telling me, please leave me alone to wait for her to come back.”

“You really think they’ll let her?” Barret asked.

Elmyra shook her head. “Hoping they will is better than sending you three off to die. Please, I love her more than anything, but please don’t die for her. I think it’d break her heart.”

“We were planning on busting in anyways,” Tifa said. “Even before they took her.”

“Yeah,” Barret said. “Shinra took my daughter, too, a little while ago. And Cloud’s cousins. We  _ will _ be getting them back.”

“You poor man,” Elmyra sighed. “I’ll wish you the best of luck, of course, but I still think it’s a bad idea. Shouldn’t you at least do what you can for your sector?”

Barret, Tifa, and Cloud looked at each other.

“We can do some work in the sector while we try and think of a way to get topside and find wherever they took everyone,” Tifa said. “Better than sitting on our asses, right?”

Barret nodded. “Assuming we can get back into the sector. I don’t think that door’s opening any time soon.”

“There’s another way,” Cloud said. “Come on, let’s go.”

~*~*~*~

Axel looked at his reflection in one of the bathroom mirrors provided for the Project’s use and took a deep breath.

He’d been careful for years. He hadn’t even let  _ Xion _ see him without his contacts since he left the Project for the first time, and now he’d been forced to discard them.

“I’ve got to go visit XIII,” he muttered.

“That’s your first priority?” Saix asked him.

“Yes, it is,” Axel didn’t turn around, meeting Saix’s eyes in the mirror instead. “I’m taking Xion, too. Have they been introduced?”

“They might have seen each other,” Saix allowed. “But why? You don’t even know if they’ll let you into the lab.”

“That doesn’t matter,” Axel said. “I’m getting in. Their problem if they want to stop me. I’m done taking orders.”

“Except from AVALANCHE.”

“AVALANCHE would have let me walk away, if I’d wanted to.” Axel ran some water out of the sink in front of him and splashed it on his face.

“But you would  _ never _ have wanted to,” Saix said. “Face it, Axel. When they did  _ this _ to us--” he punctuated the statement by targeting the mirror for a moment, the glow temporarily obscuring the reflection, “-- they made us commandable. We need  _ someone _ to tell us what to do. For Xion, that was you, and for you, that became AVALANCHE after you left us.”

“Or maybe you’ve just always been like that,” Axel said.

“Take that back!”

“You always let me make the plans before we wound up in all this,” Axel pushed. “You put all the decisions onto me, because you were afraid of making the wrong one.”

“Shut  _ up _ !”

“No!” Axel whirled. “No, I’m  _ sick _ of taking orders, Saix! I’m sick of Shinra! Aren’t you sick of it, too?”

“Of course I’m sick of it,” Saix said. “Of course I’m sick of  _ them. _ There’s just-- If we fight them, we’ll never know peace ever again. We’ll lose Reno, we’ll lose  _ anyone  _ with a  _ chance  _ of understanding us, we’ll lose  _ everything. _ I hate it here, but at least I can sleep knowing where my next meal is coming from.”

“Until we become useless or boring to them,” Axel said. “Don’t tell me you never considered that. We’re not people to the people in charge here. They’ll terminate the Project eventually.”

“I’d like to see them  _ try _ .”

“I wouldn’t.”

~*~*~*~

They were picking through the wreckage when they heard a meow.

Tifa’s head snapped towards it. “That cat-- It’s one of Wedge’s.”

“If it’s okay, maybe he is,” Barret said. “Come on, kitty cat, take us to Wedge.”

The cat meowed again, and started picking its way through the wreckage, humans following behind. Soon enough, it led them to a sinkhole, down into a strange underground.

“Tunnels all the way down,” Cloud muttered, and the group descended.

It didn’t take too long for them to find Wedge, and the cat ran up to him and nosed at the side of his face.

“Wedge!” Barret called, and rushed forward.

The ground collapsed underneath him.

“Barret!” Tifa and Cloud yelled.

~*~*~*~

Barret downed a few potions and stood, groaning. “Tifa? Cloud? Yell if you can hear me!”

Nothing.

He tried again, louder, and all he heard was silence.

“Fine, then,” he muttered, and started dragging himself through the lab.

The place was filled with monsters, strange types of them that he’d never seen before.

“Tifa! Cloud!”

Nothing.

“Cloud! Tifa!”

Nothing.

“You two better not be dead, too!”

Nothing.

Barret tried to comfort himself with the idea that they were  _ probably _ alive, since they would have been nearby if they’d fallen down with him, so they  _ clearly _ hadn’t fallen down. Right?

“Barret? Cloud?”

“Tifa!”

“Barret!”

Barret ran towards the sound, coming out onto a catwalk. There was a similar walk on the other side of the room, and Tifa was on that one.

“Where’s Cloud?” He asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

They looked around a bit, fought a few more monsters, and eventually found a way to meet back up and get back up to the level they’d been at before.

“Wedge!” Tifa said, and ran to his side. “He’s-- Barret, he’s alive!”

“Finally, some good news,” Barret said, picking Wedge up. “Let’s find Cloud and get out of here.”

“Right,” Tifa said. “It’s just… It’s just an underground science facility, how big could it be?”

“Bigger than  _ I’d _ like,” Barret grumbled.

“No kidding,” Tifa said. “Too many monsters, too.”

“Heh, yeah.”

There was a sound from the vents, low and continuous and growing.

“It’s always something,” they said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TBH, I probably would have saved Wedge even if the game did not. because i love him


	27. Reducing Your Mako Footprint

Cloud didn’t fall all the way down. He caught a ledge, and silently apologized for the fact that he couldn’t catch Barret, too, before pulling himself up onto it, brushing himself off, and setting off to look for a set of stairs.

He would have settled for a ladder, too. He wasn’t picky.

As he walked through the underground lab, he heard noises. Some of them might have been distant voices. Some of them definitely were not.

He opened a door and stopped, staring at the scene in front of him.

It was a small garden, nourished by a single, desktop sunlamp. Obviously maintained, but for the moment unattended.

He looked closer. They were all food plants, and seemed to be in a rotation organized similar to Midgar. Their planter might have even been a model of the city, once.

If he had to guess, it was enough to feed one person, barely.

Something hit him in the back of the head, and he swore, stumbling forward and whirling as he drew his sword.

Standing there was a woman with a lead pipe. She was thin, and pale, and her blue hair had dulled from malnutrition, but she was quite obviously not about to give up.

“I don’t want your food,” he said, “and I certainly don’t want to fight someone who’s half way to starving to death if I can help it.”

“You’re from Shinra,” she said.

“No.”

“Don’t lie to me, I know what a SOLDIER looks like!” She swung her pipe again, and this time he blocked it with his sword. “What did they send you for? Notes? Supplies?”

“I left Shinra,” he said. “I’m looking for my friends, and a way out of here.”

She glared at him for a few seconds longer, and sighed. “I couldn’t beat you, anyways. It’s a shame; my garden could have used the fertilizer.”

“I suppose anything counts,” Cloud allowed.

She shrugged. “Mostly, I use monsters, but they can be difficult to get sometimes. If you’ve got something good, I’ll help you navigate the safer parts of the lab.”

Cloud dug in his pockets, and pulled out the contents. There was some gil, and a piece of paper wrapped around something.

He unwrapped the paper. It was a note, surrounding a piece of candy.

_ It was a good dance. -A _

“I’ll take that,” she said, and Cloud could practically see her calculating the sugar content in her head.

“I don’t trust Andrea as far as I can throw him, but if you really want it,” Cloud said.

“Of course you don’t,” she said, taking the candy. “You’re SOLDIER.”

“Ex SOLDIER.”

“Right.” She popped it into her mouth and chewed. “Yeah, that’s the stuff. Let’s go.”

He followed her through the hallways for a while, listening to the faraway sounds of everything else in the lab. Somewhere in all that, he figured, were Barret and Tifa, but he couldn’t quite pick them out.

Eventually, they heard a door closing.

“Shit,” the woman said. “I think your friends found the failures.”

“There are other people down here?” Cloud asked.

“Not anymore,” she said. “But a  _ lot  _ of people came down here and never left.”

“I hate that.” He drew his sword. “I’m going to help my friends.”

“Wait,” she said, grabbing his arm. “I have to know; how did you get down here? I sealed up the entrance ages ago.”

“I think debris from the plate punched through the ceiling,” Cloud said. “I have to go.”

“Alright, but I’m coming too.”

He didn’t feel like fighting her on that.

~*~*~*~

Cloud landed on the biggest of the monsters, finishing it off.

“Kill steal,” Tifa said.

“Are you complaining?” Cloud put his sword away. “It’s dead.”

“Fair enough,” she said. “Let’s close the vents before any more of them come in.”

“Just a second,” Cloud said. Then, he turned upwards. “You can come down, now.”

“Who--” Barret began, but stopped as the blue haired woman dropped from the vents.

“Now close them,” she said.

Tifa nodded and did just that.

“Why do you look like Saix?” Barret asked, pointing at her.

“You know him?” She looked between the three of them. “Is he here?”

Cloud snorted. “Hope not.”

“How do  _ you _ know him?” Tifa asked.

“It’s… a lot,” the woman said. “Can we get out of here and destroy the place? I’ve gotten rid of as much as I could afford to, but I  _ don’t _ like the idea of this stuff being open air.”

“This would be  _ so _ much easier if we still had Axel,” Barret muttered. “Yeah, let’s go.”

~*~*~*~

Half an hour later, the surviving, free members of AVALANCHE and the strange woman were back at Elmyra’s house, everyone except the passed out Wedge eating dinner.

“How did you end up down there, anyways?” Tifa asked.

“I stayed behind to destroy the data when the Project stalled,” she said. “The successful subjects were removed at that time, but the budget wouldn’t allow for any more failures. Morality wouldn’t have allowed the Project in the first place, but Shinra has accountants, not ethics.”

“Sounds about right,” Cloud muttered.

“This Project…” Tifa said. “Project XIII?”

“Yeah,” the woman said. “How much do you know?”

“We know they’re bioweapons, and each of them has a number designation,” Barret said. “They’re more loyal to each other than they are to Shinra, according to Axel.”

She nodded. “Not much, but it’s a solid start.”

“Who  _ are _ you?” Elmyra asked.

“Oh,” the woman said. “Right, I forgot about introductions.” She stood, and bowed slightly. “My name is Aqua Hamasaki, and I was a lab technician assigned to Project XIII during its second phase. What are your names?”

“Tifa Lockhart.”

“Barret Wallace.”

“Elmyra Gainsborough.”

There was a pause, and Tifa nudged Cloud.

“Cloud Strife,” he said.

Aqua nodded, and sat back down, returning to her meal.

“So,” Barret said. “Aqua. Do you know where Project XIII would have been relocated to after your lab was abandoned?”

“There are a number of Shinra labs across Midgar,” she said. “I’d doubt they were in Sector 7, and they certainly aren’t now, so that leaves about twenty labs.”

“We can rule out Sectors 1 and 4, too,” Cloud said. “I don’t think they’re keeping high security bioweapons in places without power.”

Aqua blinked. “What? What happened to the power in those sectors? Are people okay?”

Barret bristled. “W--”

“That’s not really the topic of discussion right now,” Tifa said quickly. “Aqua, discounting those sectors, how many labs are there?”

“Fourteen, I think,” Aqua said. “Seriously, though, are people okay? Mako exposure is--”

“Really dangerous, yeah,” Cloud said. “Trust me, I know.”

“I don’t think  _ they _ do,” Aqua said. “You  _ know _ the casualty rate during the SOLDIER process, plus the degradation, but… that’s just for  _ controlled _ mako.  _ Understood _ mako. It gets worse. It gets  _ so much _ worse.”

“I know,” Tifa said, very quietly.

“You mentioned you worked on Project XIII during its ‘second phase’,” Barret cut in. “What did that entail? What can you tell us about it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aqua's here! And with an easter egg from my DND au (which I'll get back to eventually (o.o;)). We don't have age shenaniganery like the realm of darkness in this AU so she's 28


	28. Exposition For The Modern Era

“The SOLDIER project, while risky, was a resounding success in the eyes of Shinra executives,” Aqua said. “They sought to create bioweapons of similar strength with more diverse capabilities, which resulted in the formation of Project XIII.”

The people around her shifted in their seats.

“The first phase was theoretical,” Aqua said. “Determining a starting point for creating mako-enhanced individuals without the guiding substance that specifically produces SOLDIERs. I wasn’t involved in that, so I don’t know what that is, but it’s something besides mako that reduces the mortality rate and standardizes their abilities.”

“Besides mako?” Tifa said. “That’s a new one.”

“The mortality reduction is desirable, but for the purposes of Project XIII, the standardization was not,” Aqua said. “So going into the second phase of the Project, the practical phase, they used molecules from materia.”

“Did that reduce the mortality at all?” Elmyra asked.

“I don’t think so,” Aqua said. “The first batch was approximately 1000 people. All of them were scientists, or people connected to those scientists, who had previously had no connection to Shinra. Six of them survived.”

The room tensed as she said it, and she winced.

“They were numbered according to their apparent power levels and spent two months under the microscope to determine why  _ they’d  _ been successful,” she continued. “Eventually, it came up that the lab they’d been at before had also been studying mako, so the second batch was composed of two hundred people from locations centered around Shinra mako reactors.”

“Did any of them survive?” Cloud asked.

“Saix Hamasaki and Axel Sinclair,” Aqua said. “And no one else.”

Silence.

Cloud, Tifa, and Barret looked around at each other and Elmyra, seeing if anyone else would give them a cue.

“Since two out of two hundred is a better number than six out of one thousand, Shinra figured that they were on to something.” Aqua placed her hands in her lap. “Batch three was 150 people who had been pulled out of the SOLDIER program before the final procedure over the year leading up to that point. Four of them survived, but by this point Shinra was getting antsy.”

“I don’t think even Shinra could excuse almost fifteen hundred deaths for twelve successful results,” Tifa said. “No matter how powerful those successes were.”

“The accountants would agree with you,” Aqua said. “They gave the Project one more chance to prove itself, after which the scientists would be relocated and reassigned and, well…”

“The survivors would work as bioweapons for Shinra,” Cloud said.

“That would imply they were being paid,” Aqua said. “The survivors were to be seized and stored as Shinra assets.” Her fists were clenched in her lap, shaking. “Even my little brother… Shinra didn’t treat the people it put through the project as people. I suppose it was the only way they could live with themselves.”

“What was the last batch?” Cloud asked. Elmyra shot him a glare.

“Ninety seven people,” Aqua said. “Anyone they could get their hands on for it, including some of my fellow lab techs that pulled the short straws. They also lost access to materia due to budgetary concerns. Two survivors; a baby-- the daughter of two of the scientists, I think-- and a boy who wasn’t human to begin with. If the Project hadn’t been slashed right there, I think plans would have been to perform studies to see if it was luck, or…”

The room was silent again.

It was deafening, in the absence of noise.

Elmyra reached out, putting a hand on Aqua’s shoulder.

“That’s horrible,” she said.

Aqua nodded. “I don’t know what happened after the lab was shut down. I’m sorry.”

“We’re going to make Shinra pay, don’t you worry,” Barret said. “For Project XIII, for dropping the plate, for kidnapping children, for sapping the life force from this planet… everything.”

“I want to help,” Aqua said. “I’m-- I’m  _ passable _ at fighting, and I know materia pretty well, I--”

“You’re half starved,” Elmyra said. “Any help you want to do, you do from  _ here _ .”

“But--”

“If we see Saix, we’ll give him your regards,” Tifa said. “But Elmyra’s right; you need to take some time to recover.”

“If you have any ideas to get us topside with public transit down, I’ll listen,” Cloud offered.

“There are a few hidden lifts.” Aqua brightened. “I don’t know where they are, but anyone who’s managed to keep power for any amount of time down here probably has Shinra on the line and should know how to get up.”

“Corneo,” Cloud growled.

“If he’s still in power, no doubt about it,” Aqua said. “Shinra doesn’t share. He’ll be tied up in their business whether he wants to be or not.”

“Looks like we’re paying him another visit,” Tifa said.

“You’re getting some  _ fucking _ rest, is what you’re doing,” Elmyra said. “Ancients may be able to go a week or more without sleep, but  _ we _ can’t. To bed, all of you.”

“Ma’am--” Barret said.

“Bed.” She clapped her hands. “Come on. It’s late.”

~*~*~*~

Cloud found Tifa outside a few hours later.

“Can’t sleep either?” She smiled at him, voice and expression straining. “I didn’t mean to wake anyone.”

“SOLDIERs are light sleepers,” Cloud said. “Talk to me.”

“I’m afraid of what’s going to happen tomorrow,” Tifa sighed. “What are we about to do? What’s  _ Shinra _ about to do?”

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“Not really.”

“Mm.” Cloud sat down, and Tifa sat down next to him. “I guess you’re just going to have to feel it, then.”

“Yeah,” she said. “I guess so.”

They sat in silence for a while.

“Do you think Corneo’s going to recognize me?” Cloud asked.

Tifa snorted. “Probably not. Whose idea was the dress, by the way? You looked--”

“Aerith’s suggestion, Rhodea’s choice of dress,” Cloud said. “And, yes, I looked like someone dressed by Andrea Rhodea.”

“They could've done a bit more with your hair,” Tifa said, poking Cloud in the side of the head. “I should have realized it was you right away, with those spikes.”

Cloud shrugged. “I’m… pretty sure someone would have insisted on ‘helping’ me shower.”

“That’s the Wall Market experience,” Tifa said. “I guess there’s not much about the place that appeals to you, huh?”

“Hm,” Cloud said, considering. “The arena’s alright, except for the part where we had to fight an evil house while we were there.”

Tifa laughed, some of the tension draining away. “You’re going to have to tell me the whole story sometime,” she said. “Falling off the plate to getting into Corneo’s mansion. All of it.”

“When we’ve got everyone back,” Cloud said. “Aerith and I can tell you together.”

“It’s a plan,” Tifa said.

“Come on.” Cloud stood, and held out his hand. “Let’s go get some sleep.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

“Well,” Cloud said. “At the very least, let’s go inside and lie down. This was a good talk, but I’d like to try and sleep now, so please don’t wake me up again.”

“Please don’t use parenting tactics on  _ me _ again,” Tifa said, but she took his hand and stood anyway.

“Force of habit,” Cloud said. “Surprised I haven’t accidentally tried them on Barret yet, really.”

Tifa covered her mouth to hold back her laughter. “Don’t  _ say _ that,” she choked.

“Come on, Tifa,” Cloud said, starting to lead her back to the house. “Let’s get some rest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Materia Combinations:  
> Xemnas - Manipulate  
> Xigbar - Gravity  
> Lexaeus - Earth  
> Vexen - Ice  
> Xaldin - Removal  
> Zexion - Seal  
> Saix - Destruct  
> Axel - Fire  
> Demyx - Ice w/unintentional Fire cross contamination  
> Luxord - Time  
> Marluxia - Poison  
> Larxene - Lightning


	29. Dream Sequences To Maximize Your Paycheck To

_ “Cloud,” Aerith said. “You know what you’re doing, right?” _

_ “About as much as I ever have,” Cloud said. “You’re going to be okay, I promise. We’re coming to get you.” _

_ “I know you are.” She smiled. “And you’re not even doing it by yourself. I’m so proud of you, Cloud. Letting other people help you.” _

_ “I’m not an idiot,” Cloud huffed, crossing his arms. “I’m not about to start breaking into Shinra buildings by myself.” _

_ “You are an idiot,” she said, holding back a laugh. “You’re just not that brand of idiot. You’re the kind that gets called brave instead of suicidal.” _

_ “You’re the kind that gets called both,” Cloud said. _

_ Aerith rocked back and forth on her feet for a bit. “Maybe so,” she hummed. “Maybe we’re all idiots, every last one of us to ever live. Maybe that’s what living is, being stupid.” _

_ “You’re never going to start making sense, are you?” He smirked. _

_ “No,” she said. “You’re allowed to find it endearing, as long as you don’t fall in love with me.” _

_ “Not a problem,” Cloud said. “Somehow, I don’t think we’ll have the time.” _

_ She sighed. “It’d be nice to, maybe,” she said. “It’d be nice to have the time, even if we can’t do it. I can feel it, like this. You carry--” _

~*~*~*~

Cloud sat up in bed, breathing hard.

What had she been about to say? What did he carry?

He put his hand to his chest, over his heart. Somehow, he knew, whatever she’d meant, it was in there.

~*~*~*~

“Aqua, did you sleep last night?” Elmyra asked.

“I made these.” Aqua held up two orbs, smaller than materia by about half volume. “You’ve got good materials here. They should be able to communicate even when your rescue party is in Shinra Tower.”

Elmyra nodded slowly. “Aerith liked to collect scraps.”

“You think that’s where we’re going?” Tifa wrung her hands.

Aqua nodded. “The main lab is there, and it’ll have enough details hidden inside that you should be able to find out where everyone is if they aren’t there.”

“First we have to get there,” Cloud said. “You do realize this isn’t going to be as easy as walking in the front gate, right?”

“I know,” Aqua said, tossing him one of the orbs. He caught it. “If you find a locked door, click the soft part of that and tell me where you are, and I should be able to get you another route.”

Cloud handed the orb to Tifa, and they and Barret made their quick goodbyes and started heading towards Corneo’s mansion.

At the front of it stood a lone guard, the same one who had taken the endorsements and returned their gear.

“We’re here to see the Don,” Barret said.

The man looked between the three party members. “He’s not in,” he said. “Don’t suppose you three could send that merc everyone’s been talking about my way.”

“That’d be me,” Cloud said. “What do you want?”

The man blinked. “Got a job,” he said. “Follow me.”

He opened the door and started walking inside.

“Who  _ are  _ you?” Tifa asked as the party followed him.

“Name’s Leslie,” he said. “Job’s simple enough, really. Going to a place in the sewers, but there’s too many monsters in the way. I’ll pay pretty much whatever you want, so name your price.”

“You shouldn’t hand out blank checks like that,” Cloud said automatically.

“Lucky for you,” Barret added, “we only want a way topside.”

“Oh, still looking for the kids?” Leslie opened the door to the Don’s room, where the chute to the sewers was open and had a ladder down it. “See you traded out a party member.”

“Shinra decided to kidnap her, too,” Cloud said. “Unethical science reasons.”

“Yeah, that tracks,” Leslie said. “Come on, down we go.”

~*~*~*~

“Don?” Leslie called, opening a door and motioning the others to silence.

“Did you do as you’re told?” The Don’s voice was harsh, and Cloud clenched his teeth to avoid hissing at the sound.

“The citizenry have been… unhelpful.” Leslie’s stance shifted uneasily. “I’m doing my best, but they all know it was AVALANCHE that organized the evacuation. They’re not going to cooperate the way things are right now, I… can I at least see them?”

“Leslie.” Don Corneo emerged from his hiding spot. “All these failures, all these requests, one might think you were planning to betray me.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Leslie said, halfway through drawing a gun behind his back. “You know how much I stand to lose. Please--”

“Quit begging and find them!” Corneo picked up and threw a nearby section of pipe, which Leslie sidestepped.

“Yes, sir,” he said. “Just one thing.”

“What.”

Leslie lunged forward, putting his gun to the Don’s forehead. “You’re giving me my brothers and you’re telling me what you did with my fiancee.”

Don Corneo laughed, grabbing the gun and twisting Leslie’s arm behind his back. “What, did you think that would work? Shinra will have my hide in eight pieces  _ before _ killing me if I can’t  _ personally _ hand them AVALANCHE, and you think a gun to my head is going to scare me?”

Cloud drew his sword and started lining up his angle.

“You listen  _ here, _ Leslie, and you listen well,” Corneo said. “Try this again, and you’re down a kid. Maybe  _ two, _ if I’m feeling testy. Bring me AVALANCHE in chains or bring me their bodies, and don’t come back until you do.”

“You…” Leslie muttered. “You  _ bastard _ .”

“Don’t worry,” Corneo laughed. “I’ll let you pick.”

Cloud lunged, sword sliding evenly between Leslie and Corneo and levering the Don away. “Don’t even  _ think _ about it,” he said.

“Who is  _ this _ ?” Corneo asked, clearly unamused.

“The merc I hired to get me through your monster filled sewers,” Leslie said. “I told him to let me do this myself, but apparently he’s a little, ah,  _ testy, _ since I haven’t paid him yet.”

“Just give him the kids,” Cloud said.

“What do  _ you _ care?” Corneo sneered. “He’s not paying you for  _ that _ .”

Cloud shrugged. “No, but it looks like you’re dumber than I thought.”

“Whatever he’s paying you,” Corneo said. “I’ll double it-- no triple it! Get him out of my sight and bring me AVALANCHE!”

“How’s he going to get you all topside  _ three _ times?” Leslie crossed his arms.

“Give me the kids,” Cloud said. “Up front, and I’ll do it. On my honor.”

Leslie paled.

Corneo grinned, and walked to a door on the opposite wall of the room, opening it and dragging three children out, one by one, by their shirts. They looked up and started towards Leslie, one of them limping.

Leslie half reached forward before pausing and looking at Cloud, expression wary.

Cloud nodded. “Leslie,” he said, shifting the angle of the buster sword slightly to give Corneo a better view of the shape. “If you would take the boys to the antechamber and send my associates in.”

Corneo blinked, before roaring with rage and recognition.

“Hey,” Cloud said. “I’m keeping my half of the deal.”

As Leslie got his brothers out of sight, Tifa and Barret stepped in.

“Had some business, did you?” Barret asked wryly, raising the arm with the gun attached to it as Tifa raised her fists.

Corneo turned and ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cloud can be little a bastardous, as a treat.


	30. List Of Shinra Scientists Who Have To Listen To Aerith's Trans Rights Song For The Next 10 Hours

“I can’t thank you enough,” Leslie said.

“What you promised is fine,” Cloud said. “How do we get topside?”

“We can’t use the Don’s lift,” Leslie said. “It’d take too long to find the key. How do you feel about grappling hooks?”

“We can use grappling hooks,” Tifa said.

Leslie sighed in relief, and led them to a supply closet, where he dug out four grappling guns. “This your whole party?”

“Everyone who’s coming,” Barret agreed.

“Cool.” He handed them three of the guns and tucked the fourth into his belt.

“Good luck finding your fiancee,” Cloud said.

“Good luck getting your kids.”

~*~*~*~

“Hunter 2-2, report.”

Terra looked around uneasily. “You ever get the feeling you’re being watched?”

“No. Focus on your job, 2-2.”

The call ended, leaving Terra in the uneasy quiet of the debris. A few minutes ago, they’d gotten reports that AVALANCHE and its sympathizers were on the ground, helping survivors and trying to set up a way for them to get reestablished.

Why wasn’t Shinra doing that?

He’d thought the point was helping people, when he signed on with the company, but he wasn’t sure now. The official story was that AVALANCHE had dropped the plate, but on his way to his post he’d heard enough whispers from the grounders not to be sure. And now  _ they _ were helping, and  _ he _ wasn’t. It felt wrong.

“Really feels like I’ve been lied to,” he muttered.

He leaned against a wall and hoped it wouldn’t collapse behind him.

There was a sound, like people landing on something nearby, and he opened a call.

“This is 2-2, is anyone near my position?”

He didn’t have a chance to hear the answer. Three people emerged from around a fallen lump of metal and brick and knocked him to the ground, sending the communicator skidding away.

A gun was pointing at his head, and a foot was on his back.

“2-2! What was that sound?” 2-1 demanded. “Report! Are you okay?”

A blond man with a sword walked over and picked up the communicator. He looked at Terra, and at the other people, and held it up to his face. “This is 2-2,” he said. “Just some monsters. Surprised me, but nothing I can’t handle.”

It wouldn’t work, right? Terra had worked with 2-1 before. Surely, the other man knew his voice, if not his name.

“Very good,” 2-1 said. “Damn, those AVALANCHE bastards have us on edge, don’t they? I’d bet the cowards are hiding in a hole somewhere, laughing at us.”

“I don’t particularly want to put money on anything right now,” the blond man said. Then, he ended the call and threw the communicator into the sea of debris below before the man with the  _ gun attached to his arm where a hand should be _ could reach him to snag it.

“What the hell was that for?” Gun Arm Man said. “You’re really gonna let that asshole get away with calling us cowards?”

“Yes,” the blond said.

“I needed that,” Terra complained weakly.

“Remind me why this guy isn’t knocked out right now?” Gun Arm Man huffed.

“Because he’s gonna be smart and tell us where all his buddies are positioned, right?” The foot ground into his back a little, at the woman’s voice.

“Didn’t sound like he knew,” the blond said. “Does he have any keys? Passcodes?”

“I’m not gonna tell you,” Terra said. “I heard rumors you were on the ground helping the survivors from Sector 7, but they can’t be true if you’re--”

“No, we did that,” the woman said. “Then we started climbing. We’ve got a lot to do, so please don’t waste our time.”

“Like what?” Terra regretted the question immediately as the gun arm found its way back into his face.

“Shinra’s got my daughter,” Gun Arm Man said.

Terra gulped. “What?”

“ _ Your _ bosses--”

“Let’s just go,” the woman said, taking Terra’s gun and breaking it in half before throwing it below.

AVALANCHE left, and Terra stayed where he was.

He wasn’t sure how long it was, when someone came by to check on him.

“What happened to your communicator?” The other guard asked. “And your gun? Where’s that?”

“I…” Terra said, glancing at the drop. “There were some more monsters. I was able to get rid of them, but not without… losses.”

Did he believe the man with the gun for an arm, when he said this was about his daughter? He wasn’t sure. But something about AVALANCHE, about the energy between them, and about the whispers he’d heard at ground level and the cracks in the story he’d been given made him want to give them a chance.

~*~*~*~

“You’ve changed a lot since you were last here.”

Aerith squinted. The lighting was such that it obscured the features of the person talking to her. The voice was familiar, though, even if she didn’t like it. “Thanks,” she said. “It’s the connection to the planet. Pretty good HRT, actually.”

“Fascinating,” the voice said. “I might have to consider new candidates, if the changes are thorough enough.”

Aerith shifted uncomfortably. “N-New candidates for what?”

The figure laughed. “Right, you were so young when you left, it hadn’t come up.”

Silence.

Aerith raised her hand a little. “So, uh…”

“Isn’t it obvious, Aerith? We’re going to revive the Ancients, better than they ever were before, and then they’re going to take us to the promised land.”

Aerith paled.

“Don’t give me that face, you’ll be doing a service to your planet. Isn’t that what you’re all about?”

“I know what you  _ do _ ,” she said. “I know what SOLDIERs are, I’ve heard about Project XIII, I don’t want any part in something like that.”

“Haven’t you ever wanted to be a mother, Aerith?”

“Have you ever wanted to be a decent person?”

A sigh. “You’re making things difficult for yourself, you know.”

“Am I?” She looked at the figure, as best as she could. “Or am I making things difficult for you?”

~*~*~*~

Barret looked up the stairs.

“No,” he said.

“Yes,” Cloud said. “We need to be discreet. We stand a better chance of getting to Aerith that way.”

“Look, Cloud,” Barret said. “You may be a bioengineered SOLDIER, but Tifa and I aren’t. Yeah, think of Tifa!”

“I’ve climbed more stairs before,” Tifa said, looking up.

“I may be a SOLDIER, but I’m pretty sure Tifa can still outdo me in endurance,” Cloud said. “Let’s move.”

“Fine,” Barret grumbled, and the three of them started up the stairs.

“We’ll talk at the top,” Tifa said. “Prepare for the next leg.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> today i went to the optometrist, so i have one of those plastic eye shades they give you when they dilate your eyes. height of fashion.
> 
> I almost made Terra a Sephiroth clone instead of a Shinra security guard, but I figure this is something he has a better chance of coming back from (+ it's easier than trying to figure out how to name drop on another one of them) so we're gonna be little a nice to him in this au, as a treat.
> 
> Also Shinra can excuse unethical bioscience, imperialism, and general warmongering, but they draw the line at transphobia. You gotta have /some/ decency.


	31. Top 6 Things It Turns Out Those Guys You Know Have Been Up To This Whole Time

“There’s people in the next room,” Tifa hissed. “What do we do?”

Barret raised his gun.

“No,” Cloud said. He looked down at the cloak Aerith had given him. It’d work for him, but as for the others…

“I’ve got it,” Tifa said, eyes also settled on the cloak.

She dug in her pockets, pulling out a brush and a different pair of gloves. She took her hair band and used it to tie her hair up in a makeshift bun, letting some of it fall over her face, and switched out her gloves.

“How did you fit all those in your pockets?” Cloud asked, eyeing her skirt in confusion.

“Shut up,” she said. “Give me your cloak.”

Slowly, he took it off and handed it to her, and she used it to wrap Barret’s gun so it looked like he had a broken arm in a sling.

“Tifa--” Barret said.

“You can rip it off pretty quickly if we have an actual emergency,” Tifa said. “We’re playing with contextual memory, here, uh… do you have any sunglasses that look different?”

“No.”

“Take them off, then. And, uh… shit, there’s not much we can change for you quickly.”

“It’s fine,” Barret said. “Doubt it’ll make much of a difference.”

“Alright,” she said. “Cloud. Hold still.”

She grabbed his head and started brushing his hair, fighting the knots that even the Honeybee Inn had given up on. After about three minutes, she reached back into her pocket and pulled out another hair tie, pulling his hair back into a short ponytail.

“And this’ll work?”

“It’s your most distinguishing feature,” she said.

“Not the  _ sword _ ?” Barret asked.

“Hm,” Tifa said. “You’re right. I’ll hold the sword until we’re through.”

“Wh--” Cloud tried, but Tifa had already taken the sword and fixed it to her back.

“Let’s go,” she said. “Contextual memory.”

They entered the room. No one really blinked at them.

Cloud walked over to the reception desk and got them clearance to the next part of the building.

“Nice view,” Tifa said, looking out the window.

“It’s the death of the planet,” Barret muttered.

“That’s nice,” Cloud said, herding them towards the next door. “Come on.”

Once they were through to the next area, they were alone again.

“That went well,” Barret allowed.

“Too well,” Tifa said. “I expected to have time to get through, but this is… something’s up. They’re  _ letting _ us in.”

“Yeah,” Barret said. “How else are we gonna get up?”

“Hey, Tifa,” Cloud said, deciding that it would probably be best to change the subject before one of them got nervous and broke something. “How come you had this extra hair tie?”

“I have to be prepared,” Tifa said. “If the one I’m using breaks, I still need to be able to see. Really, I should have bobby pins, too, but those get you in trouble with metal detectors.”

“‘Miss, is there a bomb in your head?’” Cloud muttered.

“Let’s just keep moving,” Barret said. “The sooner we cause some trouble for Shinra, the happier I’ll be.”

~*~*~*~

“Vexen,” Zexion said, pushing his way in beside the older man. “I saw  _ him _ .”

“‘Him’ who?” Vexen asked. “Don’t play the pronoun game with me, do you have  _ any _ idea how many men are in this building?”

“35,020,” Zexion said. “Most of them are on the employee roster. But, Vexen, I saw  _ Sephiroth _ .”

The temperature dropped about 10 degrees, and behind them was a loud crack accompanied by the smell of ozone.

“What the  _ fuck _ ?” Demyx whined. Everyone else in the room who’d been focused on their own activities rather than other peoples’ conversations started complaining, too.

“Where, when, how?” Vexen demanded.

“Axel and Xion are still visiting Nanaki,” Zexion said. “I wanted to check on them, but in the hall on the way, I saw…”

“You’re  _ sure _ ,” Larxene said. “You’re sure it was him?”

“A little catch up for those of us who mind our own fucking business?” Marluxia asked.

“Sephiroth,” Zexion said. “He’s  _ back _ .”

The room erupted into chaos.

“Shinra can bring people back from the dead now?”

“Anyone, or just SOLDIERS?”

“Could they do it to us?”

“Could they do it to my sister?”

“Quiet, all of you.” In the doorway, Xemnas crossed his arms. “Listen; I’ve reason to believe this whole city is at risk. You have half an hour to collect whatever you can carry that’s worth keeping before we jailbreak Hojo’s lab and get as far away from Midgar as possible.”

“We can… do that?” Everyone looked around, wondering why this was coming up  _ now. _

“Look me in the eyes and ask that again, Xaldin,” Xemnas said. “Food and shelter are not worth getting trapped in an apocalypse. Time’s already started, get your shit.”

After a moment where everyone processed the fact that Xemnas was actually capable of saying swear words, Project XIII sprung into action.

Zexion caught a glimpse of something on the screen. Vexen had made his way into the camera system again, and as Zexion watched, several people walked into the view of one of the cameras before it snapped back to showing an empty hallway.

He checked the camera’s location. They were on their way into the Cosmos Theater.

“Alright,” he muttered, summoning his power into his hands before directing the computer into Vexen’s theater access. “Let’s  _ dream _ together, AVALANCHE.”

~*~*~*~

“Was that the end of the presentation?” Barret asked.

“I think so,” Tifa said. “Let’s keep--”

The theater started back up again, whirling through scenes of destruction. Through them all, Sephiroth was there, smirking. Responsible.

At first, Cloud thought he might be hallucinating, but the transitions of what he was seeing were glitchy and uneven. This was a stream of consciousness translated directly into the computer.

Tifa stumbled and fell, Sephiroth standing over her, and Cloud  _ knew _ that the day he  _ didn’t _ try to attack the man on sight would be the day he was really there and ready to kill everyone, ever.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped, and the theater was back.

“Let’s get out of here,” Tifa said.

“Yes.” The exit door had opened, revealing a short, older man. “Mayor Domino would like to see you.”

~*~*~*~

“And  _ that’s _ what we’re doing,” Tifa finished.

“I see,” Domino said.

Cloud was still processing the fact that the mayor of this whole ass city was  _ this _ ineffective when it came to actual city stuff. It was nice that the guy was helping them out and all, but Cloud wasn’t even sure why the office existed by that point, out of anything other than formality.

“There’s a man in the rec center who can get you upstairs,” Domino said. “Just tell him you’re looking for me about the city’s snowfall celebration plans, and he’ll give you a keycard with access.”

“Great,” Barret said. “What’s he look like?”

“I can’t tell you too much,” Domino said. “Time is short. Go.”

“Son of a--” Barret muttered.

“Come on,” Tifa sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't go to an american airport with bobby pins, fancy hair ties, or metal buttoned jeans if you value your time. actually, don't go to an american airport if you value your time.


	32. Topics To Cover When Reconnecting With An Old Coworker

“The city’s snowfall celebration plans?” The man looked them up and down. “Sure, everything you need should be upstairs. Here, I’ve got a key.” He handed them a keycard that looked like any other.

“Thanks,” Barret said, taking it.

The three of them walked away, heading towards the way up.

A couple of security guards approached them. Tifa’s hands went behind her head, seemingly relaxed but prepared to hand off Cloud’s sword if trouble started.

“Cloud?” One of them said. “That you?”

Cloud had no idea who these people were. “Yes,” he allowed.

“Man, I  _ knew _ you weren’t dead!” The other one said. Then he nudged the first one. “See, I told you. I told you he was too tough to go down.”

Barret and Tifa looked at Cloud with expressions that  _ might _ have been silent requests for introductions, if they had not been domestic terrorists breaking into a lab to do some technically kidnapping. Cloud glanced back at them helplessly.

“Man, wait’ll we tell the others,” the first one said. “Wait up here, alright? We’ll be right back with them, and we can all catch up together, like old times.”

“Yeah,” Cloud said weakly. “Like… Like old times.”

The second laughed as the two of them turned away. “Man, you’re the same as ever.”

Then they were gone.

“Did you know those guys?” Tifa asked.

“Apparently,” Cloud said. “Come on, we’ve got work to do.”

~*~*~*~

“VIII, XIV, are you almost done?”

Axel looked up at the scientist from his spot on the floor. She seemed nervous. Fair enough.

“No,” he said, turning away from her and toying with the opening on his coat. It was a standard issue lab coat, like everyone else in the Project had. They could walk around the upper floors with these, without turning heads, but if Axel lit up he’d destroy it pretty quickly.

At least they’d let him have leather pants, still.

“It’s just… Professor Hojo wants everyone without clearance out of the lab while he attempts… an alternate form of negotiation with the Ancient.”

Xion looked between Axel and the scientist.

“We won’t go upstairs,” Axel said. “Besides, we  _ do _ have clearance. We’re experiments too, you know.”

“That doesn’t give you clearance.”

“Fascinating.” Axel let an edge into his voice. “Well, tell him we will be here until we’re done.”

The scientist scuttled off, no doubt to complain.

“A pointless display of dominance, Axel,” Nanaki said. “I didn’t think you the type.”

“Well, it’s been a few years.” Axel leaned back, for all appearances casual. “I suppose I have to remind these people what they made me into.”

“Believe me, they’re aware.” Nanaki rolled over. “I heard Hojo is debating whether to breed one of  _ us _ with the Ancient, or use a SOLDIER candidate instead.”

“What a disgusting man,” Axel sighed. “Who would he even-- Like, does he expect her to take to Larxene, or…?”

“I don’t know,” Nanaki said. “Personally, I’m not interested in pondering the mechanics of the concept.”

“True,” Axel said. “Sh-- What if he tries to make  _ me _ do it?”

“I doubt you’ll be his first choice.”

“Is she in one of these tubes? That’d be--”

“Stop thinking about it,” Nanaki snapped. “Or at the very least, stop  _ talking _ about it and making  _ me _ think about it.”

“Message,” one of the nearby scientists said to the room at large. “We’re authorized. Gather the, uh, you know.” They glanced at Axel and Xion nervously, and several scientists rushed from the room.

“We’re not going to like what happens next, are we?” Xion asked.

“No, probably not.” Nanaki rolled back over, clearly unenriched by his tube environment.

Three of the scientists returned, and Axel’s eyes widened.

Xion gasped. “Roxas, Namine, and Ven? Axel, what are they gonna--”

“Oh, are you done with your conversation?” One of the other scientists turned to them. “We would ask you to leave, then. The professor--”

Another scientist returned and rushed towards the lift.

“Marlene!” Axel and Xion said in unison.

Marlene reached out to them. It was clear she had been crying just a few moments before, but was now trying to be strong.

Axel stood, taking Xion’s hand and starting towards the lift.

“H-Hey, you can’t go up there!”

“Gimme a key,” Axel said.

“No.” The scientist trying to stop them crossed his arms.

“I see,” Axel said. He let go of Xion’s hand. “Xion, can you go wait behind Mr. Nanaki’s tube, please?”

“ _ Mr. _ Nanaki?” Nanaki chuckled as Xion ran behind the tube.

Axel didn’t respond, instead opting to heat up, fire starting to lick across his shoulders and through his hair. “Key,” he said to the scientist.

“I-- I  _ can’t _ , I--”

The main door to the lab room they were in opened, and Hojo entered, followed closely by Barret, Tifa, and Cloud.

“Where are they?” Barret nudged Hojo with his gun.

Hojo scanned the room, eyes falling on Axel at the same time as Tifa’s did.

“Ah!” His face split into an unpleasant grin. “VIII, perfect! We’ve got a… bit of a security breach, it seems. Handle it, won’t you?”

Axel looked at Tifa, who was shaking her head, and Cloud, who looked like he was about to change his opinion on Axel’s moral standing again. “Aw, jeez, Professor,” he said. “Really?”

“I know you’re out of practice, but it’ll be good for you,” Hojo said. “Here, I’ll give you some…  _ help _ .”

Something stirred in the giant wall container Axel had been studiously ignoring up to that point, and Hojo and the rest of his team booked it to the lift while everyone who hadn’t been expecting that was distracted.

“How unfortunate, that I am incapable of assisting,” Nanaki deadpanned. “Should that  _ thing _ smash my tube, I’ll be sure to help you kill it.”

“Hey, gang,” Axel said. “Been a bit.”

“Whose side are you even on?” Cloud asked, exasperation evident.

“Yeah, as it happens, I have a philosophical objection to the creation of bioweapons,” Axel said. “Nothing against us all, I just really hated the entire process that led to this point, you know? Get behind something, and don’t look too close at the pretty lights.”

Everyone took cover, Nanaki covered his eyes, and Axel lit the room on fire.

The blaze lasted for about 10 seconds, 7 of which it spent fighting the sprinkler system. When it extinguished, Axel collapsed.

~*~*~*~

The fire had weakened the strange creature, but it hadn’t killed it outright. It took about another half a minute to kill it, with Cloud, Tifa, and Barret working together.

Cloud went to where Axel had fallen, rolling the other man over onto his back. He was singed, and pink, and sweaty, like he’d been when he’d destroyed the door back in the reactor. His breathing was heavy, and he was unresponsive.

“How’s he looking?” Barret asked.

“Overexerted himself, I think,” Cloud said. “I  _ want _ to say he’ll be fine, but I don’t exactly have a frame of reference for people who can spontaneously combust.”

Xion ran up to them, tears in her eyes. She reached for Axel, as if to shake him awake, but stopped before she could actually touch him.

“If you’ll let me out of here,” the stranger in the tube, Number XIII if Cloud had to guess, said, “I can watch him until he wakes up. You three do what you must.”

“That heat didn’t break your glass, and that tube’s too small for me to be comfortable trying to shoot it open.” Barret looked uneasy. Those probably weren’t his only concerns.

XIII huffed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "You can't ban me from this lab! I /live/ here!"


	33. Escape Attempts That Should Have Made Use Of The Ground Floor

“Well, aren’t you three  _ fascinating _ ,” Hojo said.

“Cloud!”

“Daddy!”

Cloud stepped forward. “Kids!”

“Marlene!” Barret’s relief was palpable when he saw his little girl.

“You guys?” Aerith blinked, rushing to the glass barrier surrounding her. “What’s going--”

“Witness,  _ Aerith _ ,” Hojo said. “Watch what happens when  _ people don’t listen _ .”

Troopers stepped from the shadows, surrounding AVALANCHE.

“One more delay,” Tifa muttered.

~*~*~*~

The troopers down, they turned to the scientists.

The ones on the ground set the children down and backed away. The kids ran to their respective adults, and clung tightly.

“Feh, cowards,” Hojo muttered.

“Bold words from someone all the way up there,” Barret shot back, stroking Marlene’s hair.

Cloud knelt, pulling his cousins close.

“Really,” Hojo said. “You’re all that’s left of your cell, aren’t you? A couple of nobodies and a failed cl--”

Cloaks swarmed him, cutting off the rest of his sentence and throwing him out the back of his box and out of sight.

There was a pause.

Barret readjusted his grip on Marlene and stood straighter, picking her up. “Aerith, get out of the way, I’m going to shoot your tube open.”

She nodded, stepping back, and Barret opened fire on the glass. As it shattered, several lights around the door went dark.

“Let’s pick up Axel and that XIII fellow and get out of here,” Tifa said, putting her arm around Aerith’s shoulders. “ _ I’m _ certainly sick of this place.”

Aerith nodded, leaning into Tifa’s side a little.

~*~*~*~

“That,” Xemnas said as Project XIII walked towards Hojo’s lab, “was  _ forty-five _ minutes.”

“I  _ told _ you they’d take an extra fifteen minutes regardless,” Xigbar said.

“Fascinating,” Xemnas said. “And yet, I  _ didn’t _ actually ask.”

Larxene pretended to try to hide her laugh.

Xemnas passed a keycard over the reader and opened the door, and the eleven of them entered the lab.

Then they stopped, staring at the scene before them.

All the prisoners of the lab were freed, and Axel was draped over Nanaki’s back, apparently unconscious, as they and AVALANCHE froze in their approach of the exit. There were no scientists in sight.

Xemnas figured that it would be prudent to allow himself to display his confusion, this once. Purely to communicate that he wasn’t here to fight  _ them, _ after all.

“Oh, hi again,” Zexion said. “Did you get my message?”

“The apology?” Barret asked. “Or was there another one.”

Zexion bit his lip. “Uh,” he said.

“You messed with the computer systems again, didn’t you?” Vexen sighed.

“I figured they had a right to know Sephiroth was around,” Zexion said.

“What?” Cloud’s voice was higher and sharper than anyone had thought him capable of.

“Really, I think  _ everyone _ deserves to know that,” Luxord said. “Should we have left a note for the president?”

“We’re in a hurry,” Xigbar muttered.

“XIII,” Xemnas said. “We’re going to fly the coop. Quite literally, as it would happen. Care to come along?”

Nanaki nodded.

“Could we also get a ride down from here?” Aerith asked. “Pretty please?”

Project XIII shared a few looks.

“Yeah, alright,” Xigbar said. The rest of them nodded.

Cloud bit his lip as his party was subsumed into the Project’s mob.

“Sorry about… dropping you off the plate,” Xaldin said.

“You know what?” Cloud said. “Sure. I’ll accept that. It’s been that sort of week.”

“ _ I’m _ not apologizing for stabbing you,” Larxene said. “Or for the lightning. You didn’t even die.”

“I am going to be very happy when you are very far away,” Cloud decided.

Larxene nodded, apparently satisfied with his answer.

Cloud glanced at Saix, and remembered something.

“Tifa,” he said. “Can I see the, uh, you know…”

Tifa blinked in confusion for a few moments, before her face lit up in recognition and she handed him the communication orb they’d gotten from Aqua.

Cloud pushed on the soft part. “Hey,” he said. “You there?”

“Yeah,” Aqua said. “Took you long enough to call. Where are you?”

Saix had already snatched the orb from Cloud’s hands. “How do I…”

“Wait,” Aqua said. “That voice-- Saix?”

“Aqua,” Saix breathed. “It  _ is _ you.”

“Saix!” Aqua said. “Holy shit!”

“There are children present,” Barret said.

“Sorry,” Aqua said. “I just-- Saix, I thought I’d never hear from you again!”

“I thought  _ you _ were dead,” Saix said.

“Should have known I wouldn’t go down that easy,” she laughed.

Conversation cut off as a loud explosion shook the tower.

Axel groaned.

“Can we  _ please _ get to the roof already?” Demyx asked. “Pretty please? I won’t complain for a month if we do.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” Marluxia said, grabbing the other man’s shoulder and starting to drag him.

~*~*~*~

Cloud froze.

He wasn’t the only one, but he was the first.

Sephiroth stood in front of a large specimen tank, back to them.

That didn’t last.

Sheets of pain, slicing, searing, numbing his mind, sent him staggering backwards as Sephiroth turned.

“Well,” the quiet voice said, chuckling. “Isn’t this quite the… reunion?”

The room was frozen, everyone calculating their next move.

Axel groaned, starting to wake up, and Sephiroth’s attention snapped to him, zeroing in with a hunter’s focus.

Cloud bit his lip and charged, sword drawn.

“Cloud!” Aerith yelled.

Cloud’s sword connected with Sephiroth’s and the other man leaned forward. “Good boy.”

Before he could blink, a foot to his stomach sent Cloud to the deck of the bridge. He pushed himself backwards, away from a slice of that horrible, horrible sword, and felt the ground jerk downward.

As it fell, Sephiroth launched himself over the emerging gap, towards everyone else.

Cloud didn’t see what happened next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Larxene is one of my favorite characters in the Organization because I really like watching inglorious assholes running around pulling their bullshit. It's hilarious. It's the main appeal of Death Note


	34. Picking Who Does The Thing When You All Have Anxiety

Barret aimed his arm at the man who’d sent Cloud into the depths of the lab below them. Xigbar put a hand on the gun, probably trying to communicate something to him, but Barret wasn’t in the mood.

“VI,” Xemnas said.

“Don’t--” Zexion began.

“Engage.”

Xemnas’ voice was deadly calm, which made it all the more concerning when Zexion slumped, eyes going blank and energy beginning to form around him.

“N-- Stop it!” Vexen put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder and shook him. “VI,  _ disengage. _ Xemnas, call him off! Don’t make him--”

“IV, silence.”

“Oh, a living command switch,” Sephiroth laughed. “Useful, I suppose. What do you intend to accomplish with this, precisely?”

The energy around Zexion snapped.

~*~*~*~

“Was he trying to put me to sleep?”

Zexion’s sense returned to him, and he saw everyone around him asleep.

Everyone except Sephiroth.

“You’re an interesting anomaly, I suppose,” Sephiroth said. “I may have heard of you. Still, I’ve only two hands, and two higher priorities than you.”

“Wh-- What are you talking about?” Zexion stepped backwards, stumbling over Vexen’s unconscious body. “Wh-What are you--”

“I’m resistant.” Sephiroth smirked, before leaning down next to Axel and Nanaki. “He reacted when my attention fell here. Which of these is the one that matters to him?”

Zexion bit his tongue, unsure of how to respond to the sudden shift of topic.

“Well?”

“I-- I only met him today.” Completely true.

“But you know.”

“I-- I--”

“I  _ could _ take  _ you _ with me, instead, if that was what you wanted,” Sephiroth sighed. He grinned, thin and sharp, as Zexion paled. “If you don’t tell me what I want to know, I’ll have to assume that to be the case.”

“I-- I don’t--”

“You don’t think you could  _ stand _ being left behind?” Sephiroth stood, and started walking towards him. “That’s fine. Who could blame you? Something like that--” he nudged Xemnas with his foot, as he passed him-- “must be  _ terrifying _ .”

Zexion took another step backwards, losing his footing and falling.

Sephiroth reached for him. “I can promise you one thing, if you  _ do _ decide to come with me.  _ That _ will never happen again.”

“It’s Axel,” Zexion blurted out. “Cloud knows Axel.”

Sephiroth’s grin widened, and Zexion covered his mouth. “Very well.”

Zexion watched in silent, ineffective horror as Sephiroth took Axel and crossed the gap. As his own section of bridge jerked downwards, preparing to fall, he saw the specimen tank shatter.

~*~*~*~

Cloud awoke on top of a section of catwalk and a pile of rubble, the corners of his mind fuzzy with interference, and he began to wander. There had to be a way back up.

He found Zexion first. The other man had gathered the kids to him.

They were asleep, but Zexion’s anxiety seemed more generalized than an indication that something was noticeably wrong with any of them.

“What happened?”

Zexion whirled, surprise and fear warring for dominance on his face before being beaten out by pure relief. “Cloud.”

“Yes, it’s me,” Cloud said, a little impatiently. “What happened?”

Zexion shifted uneasily. “Xemnas, he… Nevermind, that explanation’s too long. Relevant information; Sephiroth took Axel.”

“What?” Cloud stepped forward, and Zexion stepped back. “Why him?”

“Because…  _ you _ reacted, when  _ he _ reacted to Axel starting to wake up.”

A pang of guilt hit Cloud at that. “Oh,” he said. He felt bad that Sephiroth had taken Axel because of him, but part of him felt bad because he was  _ relieved  _ it’d been Axel rather than any of the kids.

Zexion picked up Xion and Marlene, a bit staggered under their weight but nevertheless determined to carry them to safety. “Let’s go find someone else,” he said. “Everyone else should be… around.”

Wordlessly, Cloud gathered his cousins in his arms. They were definitely too big for him to carry all at once safely, but desperate times called for desperate measures. “I take it that if you could wake people up, you would have done so by now.”

“Figured that was a given.”

~*~*~*~

Figuring out where everyone was was actually pretty easy, once they got moving. They were separated into about five different groups, just by the shape of the lab, but that was a fixable problem.

The lab intercom clicked on, and Hojo started talking about data and experiments, but Xigbar and Xaldin were able to get everyone into one place easily enough, and from there they resumed their trip to the roof.

They had to pass by that specimen tank again.

It was completely demolished, and a trail of strange fluid led from its remains to the elevator.

“What is  _ that _ ,” Demyx said.

“Horrendous,” Aerith said.

“Going in the same direction we are,” Cloud said.

There was a pause, as everyone considered that.

“We’re going up in batches, then?” Luxord folded his arms behind his back.

“It seems prudent,” Saix said. “XIV is young enough to be vulnerable, not to mention…” His eyes slid to AVALANCHE and  _ their  _ associated children.

“Demyx, Larxene, Xigbar, and I will be in the first wave,” Xemnas said firmly.

“What? Why me?”

“Because  _ you _ have water powers, you  _ fucking _ idiot.” Larxene shoved Demyx.

Demyx flopped backwards onto Lexaeus. “I  _ can’t _ believe this,” he said. “You  _ pushed _ me!”

“Yes, I--”

“You  _ pushed _ me like a Jenga tower!”

Lexaeus sighed. “Demyx--”

“Jail!” Demyx declared. “ _ Jail _ for Larxene! Cave jail for Larxene for  _ 1000 _ years!”

“We don’t have time to put Larxene in cave jail,” Xigbar said.

“I’m going up with you,” Tifa said.

“I should--” Cloud began.

“ _ You _ should take care of your cousins,” Tifa said. “Barret needs to take care of Marlene, and Aerith is…”

“Cetra,” Aerith said. “Ancient. Whatever word we want to use.”

“Exactly,” Tifa said.

“That doesn’t make you expendable,” Barret protested.

Marluxia waved a hand vaguely. “I mean…”

“Marluxia,” Luxord scolded.

“ _ I mean… _ ” Larxene said.

“XII, silence,” Xemnas said.

Larxene crossed her arms, and Vexen rolled his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Xemnas logic:  
> He goes because he's the command switch and has a vague plan  
> Xigbar goes because Xigbar has the strongest individual power  
> Demyx goes because water beats fire in everything except kh2  
> Larxene goes so he doesn't have to worry about what she's doing while he's gone, because her primary skill set includes murder, mass murder, and being mean
> 
> Zexion's about 19 here, and he spent about a decade of that time living in Shinra custody. He's heard some stories. He's got some anxieties


	35. Easy & Efficient: THIS Man Stabbed TWO People At Once!

The president’s office was empty, and the door out to the roof was open, with the trail of the strange substance from the tank leading out through it.

Tifa went out onto the roof.

“Help! Somebody!”

Her head snapped towards the sound, and she rushed to the edge of the roof.

“Help me up!” President Shinra begged. “Please! I’ll give you anything you want!”

Tifa knelt, preparing to reach for the man, but a hand landed on her shoulder. “Leave him,” Xigbar said. “He’s not exactly inclined to keep his promises.”

“He’s still a person,” Tifa said.

“It’s not like he ever thought of any of us like that,” Xigbar said.

“You!” President Shinra said, looking at Xigbar. “Help me up! This is a command!”

“Mm…” Xigbar said. “No.”

“I really--” Tifa said.

“Look,” Xigbar said. “You’ve got a good heart. I respect that. Luxord’d probably say something cryptic about what that could mean in another timeline, but I’m not Luxord. Let’s get back and tell everyone we’re good to go.”

Tifa looked back down at President Shinra, who looked up at her.

“I  _ can’t _ just leave a guy dangling off a roof,” she said, and reached down, helping the man up.

“Great,” Xigbar muttered.

“Hey, what’s going on out-- Oh… hey…” Demyx was standing in the door, looking at the situation nervously. “What’s up……?”

President Shinra brushed himself off. “ _ What _ is the meaning of the events of this evening?” He demanded.

“Axel got kidnapped by Sephiroth,” Demyx said, and then covered his mouth.

Xigbar put his head in his hands, and President Shinra paused.

“Sephiroth?”

“Yeah,” Tifa said.

“The dead guy?”

“You know, we  _ really _ thought,” she said. “But, unfortunately, he is alive and kidnapping, and for all appearances knocking people off of roofs.”

President Shinra considered that. “You’re not part of the Project,” he said finally. “Where have I seen you before?”

“She’s a reactor technician,” Xigbar said quickly.

“Hm,” President Shinra said. “ _ Is _ she?”

“I’ve worked in a few reactors,” Tifa allowed.

“Hmm…”

Xemnas stepped out of the door, pushing Demyx the rest of the way onto the roof with him before closing the door behind him. A few moments later, there was a power surge in the office and all its lights went out.

“Hey!” President Shinra ran back into the office. “What’s going on in here?”

“So we’re leaving the President to Larxene’s expertise?” Xigbar laughed. “Man, I could almost feel sorry for the guy.”

“Wait, what’s going to happen?” Tifa asked, starting back towards the door.

“Don’t worry about it,” Demyx said.

“I’m  _ definitely _ worrying about it,” Tifa assured him.

~*~*~*~

Larxene returned to her senses in a darkened room, a door slamming shut behind her.

“What’s going on in here?” President Shinra demanded.

Larxene turned to him, and found her silence still active.  _ Lovely. _ She shrugged.

“Don’t you  _ shrug _ at me,” the President spat.

Larxene looked him in the eyes and shrugged again.

President Shinra lunged towards her in rage, but a sword sprouted from his chest before he could fully reach her. Unfortunately, it was long enough that it sunk about an inch into her own chest, too.

She looked into Sephiroth’s face and glared, crossing her arms under his sword.

Sephiroth laughed. “Oh, you lot  _ will _ be making things interesting.”

He removed his sword. Larxene staggered, left hand instinctively going to the wound, as President Shinra fell to the ground.

“There might be some potions under the desk.”

She continued glaring at him, flipping him off for good measure.

He laughed again, and turned away.

Larxene reached the desk as he made it outside, blood spilling over her hand. Under it, she found Axel.

That was good. Axel had potions.

She pulled one of her knives out of her coat and cut him free from his bindings, and he gave her a few. Swallowing was hard, but it got easier.

“I hope you’re having a better evening than I am,” he said.

She looked at him incredulously. He seemed haunted, but otherwise unharmed.

“Mm,” he said, picking up on the silence. “Unfortunate. Let’s go.”

~*~*~*~

Demyx yelped, ducking behind Tifa as Sephiroth emerged from the President’s office. There was a figure in his arms. For one, horrible moment, Tifa thought it might be Axel, or perhaps Larxene.

But it wasn’t. She wasn’t sure what it was.

“I wish I could say this was a surprise,” Xigbar said, pitching his voice to carry.

“I have no such desire,” Sephiroth said, and floated into the sky.

“I always hated it when he did that,” Xemnas said, watching Sephiroth disappear towards the horizon.

“I feel like we have other things to be concerned about,” Tifa said. “Such as, he came out of the room Larxene was in, so what’s Larxene up to right now?”

“Still silenced,” Axel said.

As one, the group turned.

There was a not insignificant amount of blood on both of them, although most of it was down Larxene’s front.

Tifa and Demyx reached them first, Tifa checking Axel for injury while Demyx skidded to a halt a few inches in front of Larxene.

“Are you okay? What  _ happened _ ?”

Larxene tapped the corner of her mouth, frowning.

“XII, report,” Xemnas said, the next to reach them.

“He fucking stabbed me!” Larxene blurted out. “He stabbed me  _ through _ a man! What the  _ fuck _ ?!”

“Hm,” Xemnas said.

“Where’d he go?”

“He left,” Xigbar said. “You seem fine now, though, so who’s going to get everyone from downstairs?”

“I’ll go,” Axel said.

“I’m going, too,” Tifa said. “Axel, hate to say it, but I am  _ not _ letting you out of my sight again. Last  _ two _ times I did that, you got kidnapped.”

“Technically, neither of those happened until you got back,” Axel said.

“Not really helping,” Tifa said.

“Just saying,” Axel laughed.

The two of them went to the elevator together, and went down to the floor below.

“Axel’s not coming with us, is he,” Demyx sighed.

“Probably not,” Xigbar said. “He made a choice, with AVALANCHE. It’d probably be the same if any of the rest of us had been in his place.”

“Yeah, but…” Demyx bit his lip.

“Are  _ we _ really going to stick together, once we’re out of here?” Larxene asked. “All of us? Seems unlikely.”

“Us original six, perhaps,” Xemnas said. “You and Marluxia knew each other beforehand, as well.”

  
“Oh, I am  _ not _ leaving my brother-in-law alone with you losers,” Larxene confirmed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sephiroth: we're gonna give Cloud a heart attack but. im not gonna kill you. this time.  
> Axel: >:|


	36. Reports Of Correlation Between Motorcycles And Mako-Integrated Individuals Determined Not To Be Unfounded, Study Finds

As the group assembled on the roof, the ghostly robes began to swarm.

Project XIII had peeled a panel off the floor and the majority of them were climbing onto it, preparing to fly away and hopefully never deal with Shinra’s bullshit ever again. AVALANCHE was puttering around the edges of the panel, holding their kids and muttering about standing room.

It was about then that a helicopter showed up.

“Friendly?” Axel half begged the universe at large.

“Wouldn’t bet on it,” Cloud said.

Out of the helicopter jumped a large, mutated dog.

The Project stiffened as one.

“Well, nice knowing you,” Xigbar said, before nudging Xaldin and starting to lift the panel beneath them with his ability. Nanaki jumped out of Lexaeus’ arms, landing off of the platform.

Axel set Xion down on the platform, kissing the top of her head before moving to stand with AVALANCHE.

“Axel!” Xion complained. She tried to reach him, but Zexion put a hand on her shoulder.

“Take care of them, kid,” Axel called back to her. “Meet me in the flowers when this is over.”

Marluxia saluted him, mockingly, and then the project was gone.

Rufus Shinra jumped out of the helicopter, landing next to his guard dog. A few moments later, he was flanked by security guards.

Cloud glanced down at his cousins and Marlene.

“Get the kids out of here,” he said, drawing his sword. “All of you. I’ll buy you time.”

“You’d better be right behind us,” Barret said. “You know that, right?”

“It’d take an apocalypse to stop him,” Axel laughed, although most of the humor was gone from his voice. “Although, I’m not so sure  _ that _ would, either.”

Then he, Barret, Aerith, Nanaki, and the kids took off towards the escape.

“You, too,” Cloud said to Tifa.

She glanced after the others, and then balled her fists, glaring at the man in front of them. “Fat chance I’ll leave you alone with a guy like this,” she said.

Cloud didn’t say what he was thinking; that they were probably going to die up here, and he’d hoped she’d be the one to take care of his cousins after they escaped. Saying it would make it real, make it certain.

If he didn’t say it, maybe it wouldn’t be true.

He adjusted his grip on his sword.

Rufus Shinra aimed his gun. “Care to dance?”

Cloud shifted his stance. “Yeah,” he said. “Let’s dance, asshole.”

~*~*~*~

The battle was grueling, and Cloud was grateful for the existence of cure spells and potions. It probably wasn’t  _ great _ for his body to heal that rapidly and repeatedly, but it was better than, say, dying of bullets, so he wasn’t going to be picky about it.

At the moment, though, he didn’t quite have the magic energy to cast one on himself, which was a little bit of an issue. He would have been checking his pockets for potions, except for the fact that he had to spend all of his energy monitoring his opponents’ movements.

The dog was mostly focused on Tifa. Rufus was mostly focused on Cloud. This did not make things as simple as Cloud would have liked them to be.

Cloud ducked to the side as bullets whizzed by him, and when he looked again, Rufus was gone.

“Shit,” he muttered.

Then, he heard a gunshot behind him.

Fearing the worst, he turned, only to see a robe flying away and Rufus looking  _ very _ surprised.

Cloud pointed his sword. “Let’s end this, shall we?”

“Not this time.” Rufus raised a hand, catching onto the bottom of the passing helicopter and being lifted into the air. His dog hopped in through its open door.

“Cloud!” Tifa yelled, and the two ducked away from helicopter fire.

~*~*~*~

“Any ideas?” Axel muttered to Barret as the two tried to position themselves in front of Aerith and the kids.

“Clear a path and run,” Barret replied.

Nanaki growled at the guards around them.

Then, Heidegger appeared, approaching casually through the crowd. “Well,” he said, “isn’t this a surprise?”

“Shouldn’t be,” Barret said.

“He’s right, you really should have expected something like this,” Axel agreed.

“Glad you found someone nearly as talkative as yourself to look after.” Nanaki flicked his tail at Axel.

Heidegger frowned. “Secure the Ancient,” he said. “Eliminate the rest.”

The guards aimed their guns.

“Oh, to be a fly on the wall of the meeting where he explains  _ that _ command to Scarlet,” Axel muttered, drawing his own.

“We’ve got other things to worry about,” Aerith said, entering a combat stance of her own.

Above them, something revved.

“Duck!” Nanaki ordered.

“Where?” Axel said.

Cloud launched off the balcony above them on a motorcycle, landing on several security guards and driving around to knock into more of them.

“Oh, there,” Axel said.

Tifa drove down the stairs in a pickup truck, stopping in front of them and honking the horn as Cloud paused to rev the motorcycle menacingly at the crowd.

Aerith climbed into the cabin with Tifa, and Barret and Nanaki helped the kids into the truck bed before climbing in themselves.

“Axel, there’s no time, get on!” Aerith called.

Axel hesitated, before running to the bike and throwing himself on behind Cloud.

“What are you--” Cloud began.

“No room,” Axel said. “No time, either. Drive!”

They drove.

~*~*~*~

Barret cheered as they roared down the road. “Suck it, Shinra!”

“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Nanaki said.

“You worry too much,” Barret said. “Come on, turn that frown upside down.”

Nanaki rolled over onto his back. “I fail to see how this improves our situation.”

Ventus giggled.

Behind them on the road, the sounds of more motorcycles could be heard.

“Showtime,” Cloud muttered, dropping from beside the truck to behind it.

The Shinra security guards pulled up around them, and Cloud drew his sword and their attention, slicing at them.

They attacked back, and not all of them were ignoring the car.

“Hey, Axel,” Cloud grunted, slashing at another guard. “What happens if I hand you materia?”

“Sector 2,” Axel said.

“Damnit.”

Next to him, one of the guard’s bikes failed, and the others started looking around wildly.

“What the--” Barret began, but cut off at the sound of laughter.

Laughter that Cloud and Axel recognized.

Roche landed next to them on his bike. “Care for a rematch?”

Cloud glanced at the truck, in spite of himself. “ _ Fine _ ,” he growled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon Roche declared he would return and then did not. I found this disappointing, because I like him, so he's back now.


	37. Toll Free Ways To Send The Children Home

Aerith watched the motorcycles speed ahead of them. “What’s that about?”

“No idea,” Tifa said, stepping on the gas.

The truck wasn’t as fast as the motorcycles, though, even at its full speed, and they found themselves falling behind. More guards started pulling up around them, even as fast as Barret was able to gun them down.

Aerith sighed, looking after where Cloud had gone. “I knew he had a competitive streak, but I think this is taking it a bit too far.”

“No kidding,” Tifa agreed.

Aerith opened her window and cast some spells at their pursuers. “How are you holding up back there?”

“I could stand a few less motorcycles,” Nanaki informed her.

“I think we  _ all _ could,” Aerith agreed.

~*~*~*~

Cloud and Roche were neck and neck, and they were fighting dirty.

“Don’t we have other priorities right now?” Axel asked.

“The others can handle themselves,” Cloud said. “Against anything else than a SOLDIER.”

Roche laughed, shooting a thunder spell at them. “You  _ really _ think you’re any different?”

“Are you blind?” Cloud called back to him, slashing with his sword a few times.

Axel sighed. Then he leaned in and whispered. “I’ve got an idea. Be prepared to turn towards him.”

Cloud grunted in acknowledgement, and Axel sat back again, taking a deep breath. He could feel his power building within him, and he pointed at the other bike.

A bolt of fire shot across the gap between them, shoving both bikes away from the center of the road with knockback and recoil. Cloud turned inward almost instantly, barely avoiding being knocked off the road.

Roche wasn’t quite as fast. His bike fell off the road.

Cloud slowed as Axel slumped against him, listening for a moment until he heard the landing. “Yeah, he’ll be fine,” he decided. “What the fuck was that kinetic force?”

“Jus’ h’ppens,” Axel said. “‘M tired now.”

Cloud sighed.

Behind them, the sounds of more motorcycles mixed with gunfire began to approach. Cloud slowed further, looking behind them as he dropped back into the crowd and started slashing.

The kids cheered.

~*~*~*~

Eventually, the guards tapered off and they came to the end of the road.

As Cloud dismounted the bike, a black feather floated down from the sky. He tried not to think too hard about it. It was probably just from a bird; after all, Sephiroth had never had wings, so it couldn’t be from him, much as the itch at the back of Cloud’s mind insisted otherwise.

Axel climbed off, too, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Holding up?”

Cloud snorted. “Better than  _ you _ .”

“Touché.”

“We need to discuss our next move,” Tifa said, climbing out of the car.

Aerith nodded, doing the same. “We can’t go back to my mother’s house,” she said. “Not unless we’re planning on destroying the Shinra company first.”

“We might be,” Barret said.

Nanaki hopped down from the truck bed, carrying the kids with him. He set them down before speaking. “We can’t bring the children with us. It’s too dangerous.”

“We can’t leave them, either,” Cloud said.

“Yes you can.”

They turned.

There was a boy sitting on the counter of one of the toll booths, kicking his legs idly. He was probably about ten years old, and seemed… utterly familiar, despite the fact that Cloud knew he’d never seen him before in his life.

“What are you talking about?” Tifa asked.

“I can take them to Elmyra,” the boy said. “Kairi says that’s who’s supposed to take care of them, anyhow.”

The group looked around at each other.

“Who’s Kairi?” Axel demanded. “And who are you?”

“Kairi is…” The boy shrugged. “Kairi. And I’m Sora.”

“What do you think?” Aerith turned to Cloud and Barret. “Do we trust him?”

“No,” they said in unison.

Sora frowned. “You’re mean,” he decided. “And you already sent my sister back, anyways, so what’s the problem?”

“Your sister?” Barret muttered.

Axel’s eyes narrowed. “What do you-- Xion?”

Sora nodded. “Only, I guess we’re not siblings in this one, really. Just like the rest, I suppose.”

“This kid is weird,” Axel decided. “I want to go now.”

“Look who’s talking,” Cloud and Sora said in harmony. Cloud glanced back at Sora, a little concerned.

Another one of the toll stations opened up, revealing a young woman. “Ah, I-- Oh, I’m a little late, actually. Hm.”

“You don’t need to get involved,” Sora said.

“Ava?” Aerith said. “Where have you been? People’ve been worried.”

“I’ve been around,” Ava said, shrugging. “Don’t send the kids with Sora, he might take them back to the past with him.”

“I will  _ not _ ,” Sora said, offended as only ten year olds can be.

“Right, right,” Ava said. “Anyways.  _ I _ could take them back to Elmyra for you, if you’d rather.”

The group looked around at each other for a few more moments.

“Aerith knows Ava,” Cloud said finally.

Sora shrugged, disappearing back inside his toll booth, and Ava opened the door to hers.

“Scout’s honor,” she said, taking the kids inside with her. Then she, too, closed up her booth.

“That was the weirdest thing I’ve ever experienced, and I know Luxord,” Axel declared.

“We’ve reached the point of no return, I think,” Aerith said.

“Huh?” As one, everyone else turned to her.

She was looking out over the road ahead of them. There was a strange distortion, robed figures swirling around it.

“Something happened here,” she said. “Before.” She turned to Cloud. “Do you remember?”

Cloud was about to say no, he didn’t, when one of the figures flew through them.

Visions flashed across his eyes. A black haired SOLDIER, facing down an army of security guards.

“All this way, huh?” The SOLDIER drew his sword--  _ his _ sword, the sword on Cloud’s back  _ right now-- _ and charged.

Then, he was back to his senses.

“Did everyone else just see that?” Tifa asked.

“Zack,” Aerith whispered, and her eyes were filled with tears.

“I--” Cloud said, putting a hand to his head. “I-- How did I  _ know _ him, I--”

“No time,” Barret said. “Let’s go save the planet, alright?”

“Right,” Tifa said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter is late because the medication I've been taking has been losing efficacy recently and I've been feeling like crap. I've been trying to keep my mind off it but some other things managed to fall through the cracks.
> 
> Anyways, Zack. Next chapter is the last one and honestly it's kind of short so I might post it early. Hope everyone's doing better than I am. Stay safe and take care out there


	38. Dodging Destiny For Dummies

_ In the less than distant past, Zack Fair staggered towards Midgar, Cloud unconscious over his shoulder. Behind them was dragged a makeshift sled, upon which three children also slept under a shade. _

_ “Almost there,” he said. “Then we’ll be okay. I’ll introduce you to the Gainsboroughs. You’ll love them.” _

_ Cloud did not stir. _

_ “Come on, I know you’re in there somewhere. Work with me, dude.” _

_ They reached the top of the hill, and Zack stopped, looking down at the security guards aiming their weapons at him. _

_ He sighed, setting Cloud on the ground next to him and dropping the sled’s lead. _

_ “All this way, huh?” He drew his sword and charged. _

_ He hacked and slashed through the absolute swarm of them. Slowly, the sound drained from around him, until he stood surrounded by the unconscious and the dead. _

_ “Heh,” he said. “See that, Cloud? It’s gonna be okay.” _

_ He turned, and saw a brown haired boy sitting on the sled, kicking his legs idly. _

_ “It is,” the boy said. “I can wake him up for you, if you’d like, but it’s transactional.” _

_ “What do you mean?” Zack put his sword away. He wished he knew more about kids; something about this boy was strange to him, but he couldn’t tell what. _

_ “You can’t stay here,” the boy said. “That’s not how it works.” _

_ “Wh-- I can’t leave them!” Zack stepped forward. “Not here!” _

_ “They’ll be okay,” the boy said. “They’ll be okay if you let me do what I need to do. If you come with me.” _

_ Zack looked down at him. _

_ “Fine,” he said. “Where are we going?” _

_ “Leave your sword,” the boy said. “You won’t need it where we’re going. He will.” _

_ Zack hesitated, but removed his sword, setting it next to the sled. Then he repositioned Cloud, placing the other man in the shade. “Now where?” _

_ The boy stood, reaching out and taking Zack’s hand. “It’s easier to show you.” He smiled. “Come on.” _

~*~*~*~

Namine woke up in a house. Like, a real one. She couldn’t quite remember when the last time she’d done that had been.

On the bed around her were her brothers, Marlene, and Xion.

Someone was moving downstairs.

She climbed out of the bed and wandered down to see.

There was a woman there, making food. Wedge was helping.

She cleared her throat, as she’d heard adults do so many times. “Where’s Cloud?”

Wedge and the woman turned to her.

“You’re awake,” the woman said.

Namine looked at her.

“Cloud’s gonna go save the planet,” Wedge said.

“Oh,” Namine said, and climbed into a chair. “Okay.”

There were footsteps on the stairs, and another woman came down. She looked tired and hungry.

“You should be in bed, Aqua,” the first woman said.

“I feel bad sitting around while you’re doing all this work,” Aqua protested.

“You are literally half dead, get some sleep.”

“Well-- why does  _ Wedge  _ get to help?”

“I’m injured, but I didn’t spend multiple years sealed in an underground lab full of monsters with barely enough food to survive on,” Wedge said. “We’ll bring you something up.”

“But--” Aqua began.

“Namine,” the first woman said. “There are some of Aerith’s old books upstairs, in the room you kids are in. Why don’t you ask Aqua to read one of them to you?”

Namine looked between the three adults. She knew what the real aim of this was, and it was very clear to her that she wasn’t the only one. Still, she hopped out of her chair and walked up to Aqua, looking at her with wide, pleading eyes.

“Alright,” Aqua said. “Come on, kiddo.”

~*~*~*~

They’d left the boundaries of Midgar by that point, tensed and waiting for something to happen the whole time.

Finally, though, they had to focus on other things, like ‘possibly finding something to ride on instead of walking the whole way to wherever they were going’.

“I wonder if there are chocobos out here,” Tifa said.

“The area’s big enough, we could call a summon,” Barret suggested.

“Summon  _ what _ ?” Axel asked. “What summons do we have that we can all ride on?”

“Our first priority should be getting you a shirt,” Cloud said.

“I’m not going to burn, Cloud,” Axel said.

“You’re tougher than the sun?” Cloud raised an eyebrow. “The fucking  _ sun, _ Axel? The source of all heat and light on the planet?  _ That  _ sun, Axel? That’s what you’re saying?”

Barret laughed.

“TIfa, they’re bullying me,” Axel whined, mostly jokingly.

“That’s your personal problem,” Tifa said.

Nanaki laughed.

“Fuck you,” Axel said. “All of you. I don’t know why I’m here.”

“I don’t know why you’re here, either,” Cloud said.

Aerith looked up at the sky.

“Hm,” she said. “Too clear.”

“No kidding,” Tifa agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! You know, for now, at least.
> 
> As (I think) I mentioned earlier, I started writing this story to help me process the FFVII remake, at the time that it came out. As someone who (at the time) didn't know much of anything about the original game, it was a lot to take in! But it was definitely something I was interested in. After getting through the remake, I watched a couple let's plays of the original, and then a couple more of the remake, and then one of Crisis Core, and uh... yeah.
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!


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